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 Industry Outlook: Dairy continues to be a growth category

This month’s Knowledge Exchange Partner article, contributed by Corey Geiger and Abbi Prins of CoBank, takes a broad look at the forces shaping today’s U.S. dairy landscape. Significant processing investments, shifting product demand, and evolving market signals are creating both opportunities and new challenges for producers. As the industry adapts to these dynamics, strategic planning and flexibility will be essential for long‑term success.

January 8, 2026

Cow milking facility and mechanized milking equipment

Latest From Today's Harvest Blog

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Farm Credit
A Day in the Life of an Appraiser: Spotlight on Young Professional Member Emily Ooms

Farm Credit East is committed to the next generation of agriculture. As part of that commitment, we’re also committed to growing and developing our team alongside the unique needs of the industries we serve. To develop that next generation of leaders, Farm Credit East offers a Young Professionals (YP) program. 

January 5, 2026

Featured Webinar

A display of red ripe Macoun apples - a sweet crisp eating apple from the Hudson Valley of New York State.
Business Tips and Tools
2026 Apple Industry Outlook Webinar

Join Farm Credit East, Horizon Farm Credit and Chris Gerlach of the U.S. Apple Association to discuss the future of the apple industry. This webinar will take a deep dive into the prevailing trends and forces shaping the U.S. apple industry.

April 16, 2026

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Tag: cost of production 
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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

Knowledge Exchange Partner
Rising Input Costs, Falling Commodity Prices to Squeeze Producer Margins in 2023

Dr. Bob Maltsbarger, senior research economist with the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute, gives his insights on continued high input costs and the state of the cash grain and oilseed industries for 2023 in this month's Knowledge Exchange Partner.

April 01, 2023

Female farmer standing in cow barn with dairy cows, looking at tablet
Crop Insurance
Understanding Your Milk Check

Understanding your milk check is a crucial piece to your operation’s revenue and risk management strategy. Milk checks vary between cooperatives and who you sell your milk to, but breaking it down by how the line items on your check are calculated can help you determine your mailbox price and what you are paid.

March 07, 2023

looking up from the ground at a man with baseball cap on standing in cornfield working on a digital tablet,
Business Tips and Tools
Understanding your Cost of Production

Risk management is the name of the game. If you know your Cost of Production (COP), your risk management strategy can set you up to preserve three things: liquidity, equity for future investments and equity for retirement. 

February 06, 2023

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