When does selling the family farm pay off?
By Elaine Goodman, Correspondent Ron Stevenson’s family had owned 107 acres in the Delta for decades. The farm was passed down from his grandparents, with ownership expanding to more than a dozen cousins and siblings. Tired of dealing with the complex ownership structure, the family decided in 2004 to...
Smaller Percentage of total USA Population doing Food Production
Courtesy of View from the Cab By Richard Oswald DTN Special Correspondent LANGDON, Mo. (DTN) — With a population of about 317 million people, America has never been larger than it is today. While the number of people keeps growing, a smaller percentage of the total population is doing...
The Three Sons Meet the Three Little Pigs
By Darin Newsom DTN Senior Analyst Once upon a time, a successful farmer had three sons. Thinking equally of them in regard to their abilities, he gave each of them the task of marketing some of his grain, with the warning that the big, bad market bears would soon...
Farm income forecast at highest level since 1973
Courtesy of WesternFarmPress.com The latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service (ERS) projects net farm income for 2013 at $128.2 billion, expected to be the highest since 1973. The agency says a return to trend yields would lead to record crop production levels and result in substantial...
Outlook – Farmland not Ready to Retreat
By Marcia Zarley Taylor DTN Executive Editor DTN ProgressiveFarmer.com AUSTIN, Texas (DTN) — The standard advice for mountain climbers is not to look down. But it is hard to stay calm if you’ve watched the trajectory of U.S. farmland since the turn of the century — up at least...