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Corn leafhoppers carrying corn stunt make first appearance in Kansas... Growers in Kansas have detected corn leafhoppers in fields across the state, said Kansas State University plant pathologist Rodrigo Onofre, noting they transmit a devastating pathogen called corn stunt spiroplasma. Positive cases of corn stunt have been confirmed from southwestern counties like Seward and Grant to northeastern areas of the state such as Brown and Doniphan counties.
“Corn stunt has been in the United States for a while – Texas, Louisiana, California, Florida,” Onofre told Farm Talk newspaper. “However, we have never seen this disease – or the corn leafhopper – this far north in states like Kansas, creating a twofold problem for producers.”
According to Onofre, late-planted fields have received the brunt of the damage caused by corn stunt.
Mato Grosso fertilizer imports decline nearly 5%... From January through September, Mato Grosso imported 4.51 MMT of fertilizers, a 4.8% decline from the same period last year. Nationwide, Brazil’s fertilizer imports fell 1.5% for the same period. With soybean planting delayed in central Brazil, farmers are worried the safrinha corn planting might be pushed past the ideal window, making them more cautious with their fertilizer purchases. Low commodity prices and a lack of credit availability also contributed to the decline in fertilizer purchases.
South American crop consultant Dr. Michael Cordonnier says, “This could be particularly important for safrinha corn that will be planted next January and February after the soybeans are harvested. Many farmers lost money on their 2023-24 safrinha corn due to delayed planting and a premature end to the summer rainy season. Safrinha corn planting could be delayed again this growing season leaving farmers uncertain about their safrinha corn acreage. Farmers in Mato Grosso will have a better idea about their safrinha corn acreage once they have completed their soybean planting.”
India scraps tax on some rice exports... India removed restrictions on shipments of non-basmati parboiled rice, a move that’s likely to boost the country’s competitive edge in the world market and boost profits for local farmers. India also scrapped the 10% export duty on husked brown rice and rice paddy.
Last month, India reduced the duty to 10% from 20% to boost exports, and gave the go ahead for exports of non-basmati white rice to resume. But New Delhi set a floor price for non-basmati white rice exports at $490 a metric ton.
IMF lowers 2025 global GDP forecast amid building risks... “The risks are building up to the downside, and there is a growing uncertainty in the global economy,” IMF warned. “There is geopolitical risk, with the potential for escalation of regional conflicts,” that could affect commodity markets. “There is a rise of protectionism, protectionist policies, disruptions in trade that could also affect global activity.”
Amid the risks, IMF kept its 2024 global economic growth forecast at 3.2%, though that’s down 0.1 point from last year. The outlook for next year was lowered 0.1 point to 3.2%, suggesting the world economy is relatively stable — but growth is expected to slow.
IMF stated, “A once-in-a-century pandemic, eruption of geopolitical conflicts, and extreme weather events have disrupted supply chains, caused energy and food crises, and prompted governments to take unprecedented actions to protect lives and livelihoods. The global economy has demonstrated resilience overall, but this masks uneven performance across regions and lingering fragilities.”
U.S. economic growth for 2024 was raised 0.2 points to 2.8%, though that would still be down from 2.9% last year. GDP is expected to slow to 2.2% next year as fiscal policy is gradually tightened and a cooling labor market slows consumption.
Euro zone economic growth is forecast to rise to 0.8% this year and 1.2% in 2025. Japan’s economy is forecast to slow to 0.3% growth this year but improve to 1.1% in 2025.
China’s economy is forecast to slow to 4.8% this year and 4.2% in 2025 amid persisting pressure from the real estate sector and low consumer confidence.
In India, the outlook is for GDP growth to moderate from 8.2% in 2023 to 7% this year and 6.5% in 2025.
USDA expands D-SNAP to more counties in Georgia and Florida after hurricanes... USDA expanded the availability of the Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (D-SNAP) to additional counties in Georgia and Florida in response to the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Milton. D-SNAP is designed to provide food assistance to low-income households that suffer food loss or damage resulting from a natural disaster.
USDA has added five more counties in Georgia to the list of areas eligible for D-SNAP benefits. The newly added counties are Dodge, McIntosh, Taliaferro, Thomas and Warren. This expansion brings the total number of eligible areas in Georgia to 112 counties and one Tribe. The D-SNAP program in Georgia will be implemented in four phases, with specific application dates for different groups of counties.
In Florida, approximately 407,733 households across 24 counties are estimated to be eligible for D-SNAP relief. The state will operate its D-SNAP application process in three phases, though specific dates were not provided.
USDA distributes CRP, safety-net payments... USDA will begin distributing approximately $2.14 billion in payments to eligible agricultural producers and landowners through key conservation and safety-net programs. The $2.14 billion in payments is divided as follows:
· Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and CRP Transition Incentive Program (CRP TIP): More than $1.7 billion
· Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage (ARC/PLC) programs: Over $447 million
CRP’s current enrollment is nearly 26 million acres. The combination of the general signup (199,214 acres), continuous signup for fiscal year (FY) 2023 (693,920 acres) and new Grasslands CRP enrollments (1.44 million acres) and acres exiting the program will put CRP acreage at 26 million. At the end of August, there were 24.7 million acres in the program. USDA currently cannot take in any new CRP enrollments at this time as the authority for such activities expired Sept. 30, 2024, with the expiration of provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill. However, USDA data shows that nearly contracts on nearly 186,000 acres for FY 2024 enrollment via continuous signups were approved prior to that date.
The top five states for CRP acreage are:
· Colorado: 2,978,741 acres
· South Dakota: 2,626,430 acres
· Nebraska: 2,423,361 acres
· Texas: 2,225,310 acres
· Kansas: 2,040,412 acres
USDA also allocated $21 million for projects to enhance monitoring, assessment and evaluation of CRP.