Today’s Harvest Blog

In this year’s Maple Industry Outlook, Mark Cannella, Associate Professor with the University of Vermont Extension, gives insight into the maple industry in the U.S. and Quebec, including important financial market factors, climate concerns and crop volatility, and a strategic outlook for the year ahead.

Last year saw a marked decline in milk prices from 2022. Feed and fuel costs declined to a lesser extent, but many other expenses increased, reducing margins for dairy producers. Farm Credit East and Crop Growers crop insurance recently hosted a webinar to provide a 2024 outlook for the Northeast dairy industry. 

Between rate increases, tightening inventories, market volatility and the rising cost of inputs, the agricultural equipment and financing landscape is entering a distinctly different environment following years of unprecedented demand and high farm profitability. As we head into year-end, here are the major themes and factors impacting machinery purchases, financing activity and overall buyer sentiment.

It’s National Dairy Month, and we couldn’t let the month of June pass by without recognizing the region’s largest agricultural sector — the dairy industry. Dairy and related processing constitute the top agricultural sector in the region, with more than $18.7 billion in direct sales, $34.6 billion in total economic impact and more than 120,000 jobs supported.