In this podcast we discuss the impact the new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement could have on the U.S. dairy market. We also discuss some of the results of Ag Equipment Intelligence's recently published 2019 Dealer Business Outlook & Trends report, including dealers' outlook for profitability in 2018 and hiring plans. Other topics covered include an uptick in credit denials for farmers and the opportunity for ethanol in China.
Ethanol usage, which helped fuel the ag equipment sales boom from 2005-2013, has flattened out, but exports continue to prop up its overall production. Nonetheless, the fight to maintain and grow its place in the fuels market has been frustrating.
At least one prognosticator is suggesting that “due to an unusual confluence of factors” the price of corn could double to $8 per bushel in the next few years. In the April 9, 2018, issue of Barron’s, Simon Constable says these factors include “declining output, an ethanol-led demand surge in China and likely brutal weather.” (Corn Prices as High as an Elephant’s Eye?)
In its March Feed Outlook report, the Economic Research Service of USDA is reporting continued strong demand from Brazil for U.S.-produced ethanol despite trade barriers enacted last year.
According to a March 6 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), estimated ethanol production margins at U.S. corn ethanol plants averaged 22 cents per gallon in 2017.
The growth in corn ethanol use helped fuel the farm equipment boom between 2008-14. Exports of the fuel additive have contributed to its increasing use during this period as the U.S. exported the fuel to 35 different countries in 2015.
Farm equipment manufacturers and dealers who reaped the benefits of the explosive growth of corn ethanol in the past decade with skyrocketing equipment sales, probably shouldn’t count on anything near that level of growth in the decade ahead.
“The ethanol production industry has been on an unusually long ‘winning streak’ in recent years,” University of Illinois ag economist Scott Irwin wrote in an Oct. 23 report.
The prospect of commercial production of cellulosic ethanol from corn stover — which is now a reality with the opening of the POET-DSM Advanced Biofuels plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa — has spurred ag engineers to develop new equipment to improve efficiency of the harvesting process and quality of the material delivered to processing plants.
Each monthly issue of Ag Equipment Intelligence is like getting one-on-one personal advice from the world's most trusted ag equipment industry experts. Advice that hasn't been watered down or distorted by outside influence, providing the latest and most insightful farm equipment analysis. AEI explores where the ag equipment industry is going — not just where it's been. No filler. No bias. No conflict of interest. You can access the PDF issue archive by clicking here.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Benzi America, we take a look at results of the 2024 Brand Loyalty study. In the Technology Corner, we examine how USDA’s use of ag data raises privacy concerns.