Ag Industry Trends & Outlooks

Discover insights, trends, ag market outlooks and other topical information as it relates to the Northeast's diverse agricultural industries. Brought to you by Knowledge Exchange from Farm Credit East.
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Knowledge Exchange Partner

Knowledge Exchange Partner

Dairy Markets Show Both Upside and Concern

This month's Knowledge Exchange Partner article contributors Corey A. Geiger and Abbigail C. Prins of CoBank, outline a mixed outlook for U.S. dairy in 2025, noting strong retail sales and export potential but weak restaurant demand and rising costs. They highlight a historic drop in cow culling, surging butterfat production, and global herd challenges, suggesting cautious optimism for the industry’s future.

June 9, 2025

Milk bottles on the supermarket shelf

Latest From Today's Harvest Blog

A row of eight to ten black beef cows standing in a grass field
Crop Insurance
Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) Expanded Coverage: What Livestock and Dairy Producers Need to Know

The USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA) has announced significant updates to the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) program for the 2026 crop year, effective July 1, 2025. These changes are designed to give producers more tools to manage risk and better align coverage with market dynamics. 

June 16, 2025

Featured Webinar

Soybean field at sunset
Ag Economy
2025 Grain and Oilseed Industry Outlook

In the recent webinar, Farm Credit East, Horizon Farm Credit and CoBank Lead Economists, Tanner Ehmke and Jacqui Fatka, explore the latest insights on U.S. grain and biofuel markets. With record soybean and corn harvests, profitable storage options and recovering export demand, the landscape is shifting.

January 6, 2025

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Inside view of dairy cow barn with cows eating
Knowledge Exchange Partner
Boosting Dairy Farm Resilience: How the DRP Program Helps Manage Revenue Risks

The dairy industry is inherently unpredictable, with market fluctuations, weather conditions, and production variables all contributing to an unstable income landscape for dairy farmers. Dairy Revenue Protection (DRP) is a valuable tool to mitigate these risks and provide a more stable financial footing.

June 04, 2024

Farmer loading pickup truck with corn harvest in field
Knowledge Exchange Partner
Farm Credit East Production Cost Index Plateaus at New High

After a rapid rise in 2021 and 2022, the Farm Credit East Production Cost Index has plateaued after relatively modest increases over the previous decade.  This index tracks farm production costs on a relative basis, weighted towards costs that affect Northeast producers most. Major components of the index include labor, energy, family living expenses, crop inputs, as well as costs like animal feed and other dairy-related expenses, given that sector’s prominence in our region.

May 06, 2024

Close up image of grain crop growing in a field ready for harvest
Knowledge Exchange Partner
2024 Grain and Oilseed Outlook

Dr. Bob Maltsbarger, Senior Research Economist with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, gives his insights on the state of the cash grain and oilseed industries for 2024, including U.S. production, supply and demand trends, competition from other countries, weather-related market fluctuations, and other industry related conditions in this year's industry outlook report.

March 26, 2024

Close up on stack of rough sawn timber pine lumber planks
Knowledge Exchange Partner
2024 Outlook for the Forest Products Industry

In this month's Knowledge Exchange Partner, Forest Economic Advisors, LLC (FEA) examines the forest product markets over the coming year including the state of recession predictions, overall economic growth, and construction and manufacturing markets in this year's 2024 Outlook for the Forest Products Industry report.

March 06, 2024

Northeast Economic Engine

Download Farm Credit East’s Northeast Economic Engine report, which analyzes the economic impact of the Northeast agriculture, forest products, commercial fishing and food manufacturing industries. This report was released in October 2024. 

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Cover of the 2024 Economic Impact report