2022 Tobacco Census Data for Kentucky

By Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The USDA conducts an agricultural census every five years with the latest released on February 13, 2024, reflecting data compiled from farm operations in 2022.  Below are some highlights from the 2022 Ag Census pertaining to Kentucky’s tobacco sector which arguably has experienced the largest structural change of any sector and state in U.S.

Cow-Calf Profitability Estimates for 2023 and 2024 (Spring Calving Herd)

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor, Jonathan Shepherd | Extension Specialist, and Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The purpose of this article is to examine cow-calf profitability for a spring calving herd that sold weaned calves in the fall of 2023 and provide an estimate of profitability for the upcoming year, 2024.  Table 1 summarizes estimated costs for a well-managed spring-calving cowherd for 2023.  Every operation is different, so producers should eva

Weathering The Storm

By Jerry Pierce | KFBM Program Coordinator
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

“Agriculture is by nature a cyclical industry.” So said the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in History of the Eighties - Lessons for the Future published in 1987. It still is, with net incomes cycling up and down over the decades. So how can farms “weather the storm” when farm income is cycling down?

Old Crop Balance Sheets and New Crop Projections: What would it take to get $6.00 Corn and $14.00 Soybeans?

By Grant Gardner | Assistant Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

The first projections for the 2024/25 crop year were released on February 15th at the Ag Outlook Forum (AOF). These estimates indicate a more bearish situation in the 2024/25 marketing year than we are currently experiencing in 2023/24. As we came out of COVID/Russia-Ukraine-induced highs, prices have fallen rapidly.

Grain Profitability Outlook 2024

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

Grain prices have dropped dramatically in the last year.  Current prices for 2024 new crop delivery are around $4.15/bu for corn, $11.00/bu for soybeans (2/23/23).  This is a decrease of around $1.00/bu for corn and $1.75/bu for soybeans compared to what these prices were expected one year ago (see Figure 1).   

Price Dynamics at Kentucky Farmers Markets, 2021-2023

By Brett Wolff | Extension Specialist
Published on Feb. 28, 2024

In a previous Economic and Policy Update article, 2023 Kentucky Vegetable & Fr

U.S. Beef Cow Inventory Continues to Decline

By Kenny Burdine | Extension Professor
Published on Feb. 2, 2024

USDA-NASS released their January 2024 cattle inventory estimates on the afternoon of January 31st. Estimates came in pretty close to expectations and confirmed that the cowherd had continued getting smaller during the course of 2023. It was really a question of how much contraction had occurred.

Farm Bill Update – January 2024

By Will Snell | Extension Professor
Published on Jan. 30, 2024

Following the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30, 2023, Congress extended the 2018 Farm Bill late last year until September 30, 2024.

5 Commandments for Bale Grazing in the East

By Greg Halich | Associate Extension Professor
Published on Jan. 30, 2024

Bale grazing in the eastern U.S. has its challenges compared to traditional, more Northern regions where the system is used. To be successful in areas with more moderate winters, you need to do a few things differently. In my experience, there are a number of fundamental concepts that need to be followed to make bale grazing work well here.

Kentucky’s Agricultural Districts Program

By Jerry Pierce | KFBM Program Coordinator
Published on Jan. 30, 2024

Someone asked about Agricultural Districts recently. It sounded like a farm tax program, but I had to admit that I knew nothing about them, and that I would look into it.