Today’s Harvest Blog

The U.S. apple industry is moving a lot of fruit, but profitability is being squeezed by heavy supply, stubborn demand and rising costs. Farm Credit East recently hosted a webinar with Chris Gerlach of USApple for an overview of the industry. The following are key points growers should be aware of as they plan orchard decisions, labor and marketing for the season ahead. 

Last week, Crop Growers and Farm Credit East welcomed dairy and livestock producers to Syracuse, New York, for an evening focused on market outlooks, industry trends and strategies to help build resilient farm businesses in today’s evolving environment.

The dairy industry continues to face a highly volatile environment. Milk prices, feed costs, global demand shifts and weather variability all contribute to uncertainty in farm revenue. While risk is unavoidable, how producers manage that risk can have a meaningful impact on long‑term profitability and financial stability.

From national economic trends to housing demand, lumber supply and global trade shifts, many economic forces are shaping the U.S. forest products industry. In a recent Farm Credit East webinar, Paul Jannke, of Forest Economic Advisors, provided an economic forecast pointing to a year of stability, modest growth and continued adjustment across the forest products sector. The following are the key insights from the webinar.