2021 farm income projected to be lower than 2020

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - The newly re-configured House Agriculture Committee is apparently having some problems. The Republican Minority leader of the committee, Congressman Glen Thompson of Pennsylvania, has accused the Democratic majority of partisan politics on the committee. Thompson said the committee has always prided itself on bipartisanship but in putting together a new $16 billion reconciliation bill, the Democrats “are going it alone.” Thompson also complained that the committee has not held any hearings on a Covid relief plan and has not pushed the Biden Administration to release the funds already allocated for the Coronavirus Food Assistance program for farmers in need of that money.

Farm income forecasts for 2021 are coming up short of what farmers earned in 2020. The latest USDA estimates puts 2021 net farm income at $111.4 billion, about 10 billion less than last year. Department economists figure government payments will be down over $20 billion this year but crop income is expected to be up almost $12 billion with livestock receipts up by over 8 and a half billion dollars this year. They also add the wild card in their forecast is what happens with the Coronavirus pandemic for the rest of this year.

Bayer AG is trying to put an end to all the lawsuits the company faces because of the Glyphosate herbicide issue. Earlier this week the company announced a formal agreement with counsel for all the plaintiffs on a class plan designed to manage and resolve future court cases. Part of the deal calls for Bayer to put up about $2 billion to cover the claims covered by the class action lawsuits. The plan was filed before the U.S. District Court for Northern California which would have to approve the deal that includes more than just the financial plan.

The Cooperatives Working Together program of the national milk producers federation had a busy January selling dairy products overseas. During the month the program exported 3 million pounds of American cheeses, 3.3 million pounds of butter, almost a million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 3 million pounds of whole milk powder and 2 and a half million pounds of cream cheese. Those products are going to 15 countries in Asia, Central America, the Middle East, North Africa, Oceania and South America.