Ag News

-May 7,2021-

Corn and dry milk powder prices hit 7-year high

Are feed costs pushing up milk prices? The two seem to be rising in tandem.

May corn price hit a seven-year high at $7.40 per bushel- up more than $1.75 this month. The U.S. has exported huge volumes of corn and there is no sign of a slowdown. Brazil’s corn crop is said to be withering with little rain forecast. Corn is the key ingredient in dairy cow feed.

This past week spot nonfat dry milk (NDM) jumped 7.25ȼ to $1.325- the highest spot value since October 2014. The US has a good supply and much of the rest the world does not. Visalia’s California Dairies Inc (CDI) sports the largest milk powder plant in the US.

Nut exports shine

According to Beacon Economics, California’s tree nut exporters have been seeing impressive gains. California is the nation’s top farm exporter, and almonds, pistachios, and walnuts number among the state’s top five agricultural exports (dairy products and wines are the other two). Foreign shipments of almonds in the current crop year (dating back to last fall) are at the highest level ever. Other than an unusually high spike in exports in 2019, pistachio exporters are likewise enjoying their best year to date, while walnut exports are at their highest level since the pre-tariff war era in 2017.

Almond acreage up 6%

California’s 2020 almond acreage is estimated at 1,600,000 acres, 5.3% higher than the 2019 acreage of 1,520,000. Of the total acreage for 2020, 1,250,000 acres were bearing, 5.9% above 2019, and 350,000 acres were non-bearing, up 2.9% from 2019. Preliminary bearing acreage for 2021 is estimated at 1,330,000 acres.

Nonpareil continued to be the leading variety based on bearing acreage, followed by Monterey, Butte, Carmel, and Padre.

Fresno, Kern, Stanislaus, Merced and Madera were the leading counties. These five counties accounted for 73% of the total bearing acreage.

California cherry harvest gets underway


With cherry harvest beginning in the San Joaquin Valley, marketers say they expect a large crop of high quality—and that people who pick and pack cherries will be protected against the pandemic, says California Farm Bureau. The California Cherry Board says farmers and packers have worked to vaccinate their employees, and that safeguards inaugurated last season remain in place. The California cherry harvest is said to be starting earlier than in the past and will continue through mid-June.

Driver shortages worry agricultural truckers


As the California harvest season gains momentum, transportation companies worry there may not be enough truck drivers to move crops to market. People in the trucking and food businesses report they’re already short of drivers to haul carrots and onions from Southern California fields. They say the shortages could worsen as harvests move north. Driver shortages have been a chronic problem that firms say has been amplified by the pandemic, says CFB.

Talks over Farmworker legislation underway

Politico reports that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act, supported by California agriculture is still undergoing negotiations in the Senate after passing the House in March but Republicans are firm that they do not support the House version of the bill and are working to make changes.Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has stepped forward to lead negotiations with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., on a Senate companion bill to the FWMA. They will need the support of at least 10 GOP Senators to pass.