McLean County Farm Bureau

FarmDoc Daily

• Conservation & Risk, Part 3: Exploring the Risk-Payment Gap
  Conservation practices operate within dynamic biological, operational, and economic systems shaped heavily by weather variability. Previous articles in this series explored how spring planting windows and fieldwork conditions may alter risks associated with timing-sensitive conservation practices such as cover crops. This article extends that discussion by comparing those potential risks with conservation incentive payments.
• The Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit (45Z); Introductory Discussion
  The Clean Fuel Production Credit, enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act and often referred to simply as "45Z," remains the subject of much attention. For farmers, interest has centered on the possibility that “low carbon” grain could receive price premiums if biofuel producers begin to place greater value on feedstocks with lower carbon intensity scores. […]
• Consolidation Trends in the U.S. Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry
  The conflict with Iran has renewed interest in the U.S. fertilizer industry and the impacts on pricing associated with increased consolidation. Domestic fertilizer production is controlled by a relatively small number of manufacturers such that current Department of Justice guidelines would classify the U.S. fertilizer sector as highly concentrated. We examine how consolidation among manufacturers […]