The snow has been moved from most of the roads and farmyards in our area, that white quilt having been pulled across much of our countryside’s soil as the land settles in for its long winter nap.
Diamonds glisten on that snow under the glow of the sun and even the moon, though creating its own form of nuanced nuisances for farmers. Things might slow on farms during the winter, but the daily work continues.
Meetings and policy matters that affect farmers don’t slow at all during winter, though; work on trade issues is moving full-steam ahead as we enter the new year.
President Trump could get a major trade victory in the next few days. That’s because a Chinese delegation led by China’s vice premier, will land in Washington tomorrow, ready to sign Phase 1 of a new U.S.-China Trade Agreement on Jan. 15 at the White House. President Trump originally said he’d like to have a signing ceremony somewhere in farm country. In a Tuesday tweet from the president, Mr. Trump said he is also making plans to go to China early in 2020 to begin negotiating a Phase 2 trade deal. Signing the new deal also means the U.S. will not go forward with a planned $160 billion in new tariffs targeted at Chinese on imports such as smart phones and toys. It also means the Chinese are agreeing to buy $40 billion worth of U.S. agricultural products during the next two years. Included the list of products U.S. producers will sell to the Chinese is a new mix of genetically modified crops. There previously were 10 such products, but the new trade deal adds two more to the list — including Corteva Agrisciences Bt soybean variety, known as Conkesta and a new disease resistant papaya developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s
Agricultural Research Service.
In another matter, the December Class III milk price came off the board this week at $19.32 per hundredweight. Using that price, that would make the average Class III price for the year come in at $17.35 — up more than 18 percent from the 2018 average of $14.63. The high price for the year was $20.45 in November. The lowest Class III price in 2019 was $13.89 in
February.
Prices for other farm commodities across the state were mixed in November. Farmers got $3.52 a bushel for their corn in November — 24 cents less than October but 16 cents more than a year ago. Soybeans averaged $8.39 a bushel for the month — down 14 cents from October but 11 cents more than a year ago. The oats price was $3.45 a bushel, and that was 12 cents less than October but 36 cents more than November of 2018. Hay prices continued to climb: Alfalfa hay averaged $226 a ton — $13 more than October and $46 a ton more than a year ago. Other types of hay brought $182 a ton in November — up $33 from October and $23 more than at this time in 2018.
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