**The USDA’s proposed changes to how milk should be priced could impact dairy farmers in California more negatively than other states.
Analysts say restoration of a so-called “higher-of” formula should raise producer prices on fluid milk.
Those gains are offset by USDA’s proposal to make allowances, or what dairy farmers pay to have milk processed for dairy products.
Nearly 74% of California milk is used to make cheese, butter and powder.
American Farmers Begin Growing Season During Coronavirus Lockdown
**Fertilizer prices remain higher despite being past the high-demand spring season.
StoneX’s Josh Linville tells AgWeb Dot Com that multiple global factors have kept prices high.
Lower European production is the first reason as skyrocketing natural gas prices have cut EU production by 25%.
China’s restriction on fertilizer exports means the government figured out they can make sure there’s enough for their own people and reduce the domestic price.
Drought In Mississippi River Basin Slows Down Vital Barge Traffic
**Farmers are on track to harvest some of their biggest corn and soybean crops ever.
The Federal Reserve’s Beige Book says the ongoing decline in commodity prices is putting farm income in questionable territory.
The Beige Book says, “Regional Fed banks in Chicago and Minneapolis say the farm income outlook had weakened in recent months, and agricultural conditions in the Kansas City Fed show farmers faced headwinds from weak crop prices.”
