News

K-State agricultural economist Monte Vandeveer goes over the eligibility requirements and the payment structure of the USDA's Livestock Forage Disaster Program, as a large part of Kansas either currently qualifies or is on the path toward qualifying in the coming weeks...he explains how this assistance is linked to the severity and duration of drought, as indicated by the official drought monitor.

K-State agricultural economist Brian Briggeman discusses his new economic analysis of the "Section 199A" issue that resulted from the tax reform bill late last year, and the follow-up congressional action that addressed the problem...he talks about how this is likely to impact grain producers as they do business with their local cooperatives.

Agricultural economist Robin Reid and cropping systems agronomist John Holman of K-State talk about the decision-making tool that they've put together on grazing out wheat...they've developed a budget for comparing the economic returns of taking wheat to grain and leaving cattle out to graze wheat out.

K-State agricultural economists Glynn Tonsor and Mykel Taylor talk about some of the futures market issues that were addressed at a first-of-its-kind agricultural futures conference that took place recently in Overland Park, co-sponsored by K-State and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. They say this conference shined a light on a number of futures trading topics of great interest to the production agriculture sector. 

K-State agricultural economist Gregg Ibendahl talks about how producers can use two financial ratios to evaluate their economic status:  their return on assets and their return on equity. He has just put together analysis of how those ratios typically compare, which he says is important for producers to know.

Rebecca Bishop, in the Office of Local Government, talks about new information on statewide county government fiscal trends in Kansas over the last decade, and on individual county expenditure and revenue trends in 2017. This information can be used by county policy-makers and their constituents in making fiscal decisions going forward. 

K-State precision agricultural engineer Terry Griffin reflects on his recent assignment in Australia, where he met with leading agricultural producers in the state of Victoria and learned about their adoption of precision agriculture technology and their approaches to data management. He tells of things he picked up that would potentially interest producers here in Kansas.

K-State risk management specialist Art Barnaby offers final thoughts on enrolling 2018 summer field crops in crop insurance, stressing that paring back on coverage as a cost-cutting move is not a good idea. He also comments on what producers were saying about the future of the crop insurance program at the series of Farm Bill Forums co-hosted by K-State in recent weeks.