Crop insurance premiums may cause farmers sticker shock this year.

Next month farmers will purchase federal crop insurance on 2021 corn and soybeans. Higher prices and higher volatility will be reflected in the premium they pay. And, as you'll hear in this interview from the University of Illinois, there is likely to be some sticker shock.

The price of corn today is higher than what it is likely to be in the fall. At least that’s the case right now and it has many farmers wondering whether they should hold off on making some new crop sales in hopes that fall prices will go up. As you’ll hear from Todd Gleason, history, however, is not on their side.

The old crop / new crop price inverse for corn and soybean futures is not unusual. And, as you'll hear in this interview, there are lessons to be learned from the past as it relates to how farmers should deal with the phycology of the spread.

If the high price of grains in Chicago is going to change the cropping mix in the United States it is likely to happen in fringe areas of the corn belt. Dan O'Brien has more on how farmers in Kansas are likely to see their options.

The Chinese government has been working for more than three years to contain an outbreak of ASF in its hog herd. The government stepped in to create vaccines. However, as has been reported elsewhere, there are non-governmental vaccines, too. These have created a long-term problem for hog production in China and maybe for the United States.

Iowa State's Chad Hart says the January USDA reports were confirmation of strong international demand and that outside investors see value in agricultural commodities.

WILLAg.org CMR MU Extension Ben Brown Jan 20 by Todd E. Gleason

The University of Illinois farmdoc team has updated the 2021 Crop Insurance Decision Tool. It is a Microsoft Excel workbook that can be downloaded from the farmdoc website. The tool's calculator has been revised to include the new for this year E-C-O or Enhanced Coverage Option premiums.

Crop Insurance Decision Tool Link

https://farmdoc.illinois.edu/fast-tools/crop-insurance-decision-tool

There's a new label for dicamba applied to soybean and it includes a whole slew of changes farmers need to be prepared for this growing season.