USDA’s most recent Farm Sector Income Forecast dropped net farm income expectations for 2023 lower than initial February estimates to $141.3 billion, down 23% from 2022’s $183 billion. This $41.7 billion decline nearly erases the $42.9 billion increase that was forecast between 2021 and 2022 but is smaller than the $46 billion gain between 2020 and 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Russian wheat export prices continued to decline last week, amid reduced demand, analysts said. The price of 12.5%-protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in November was $225 per metric ton last week, down $5 from the week before, the IKAR agriculture consultancy reported. "Demand can only be found at this level," said IKAR head Dmitry Rylko. The Sovecon agriculture consultancy sees the price for this class of wheat at $237-241 per ton FOB, down $1 from the week before.

China bought more U.S. soft red winter wheat, the U.S government said on Friday, as Chinese buyers increasingly turn to the global market for supplies after rain damaged the nation's harvest. Recent sales to China are a boost for the U.S. wheat industry, which has struggled with weak exports. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said exporters sold 181,000 metric tons of soft red winter wheat to China, following another sale of 220,000 metric tons to China last week. Previously, the U.S. had not reported wheat sales to China in its daily reporting system since July 2021.

Join NAWG’s advocacy campaign to engage with legislators on increasing Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) programs authorized in the Farm Bill. MAP’s authorized funding has not changed since 2006 and FMD funding has remained the same since 2002. Inflation and sequestration have significantly eroded our ability to compete with other countries who are steadily investing more in their agricultural export promotion efforts. Please visit NAWG’s website to participate in the grassroots efforts to make your voice heard.

As harvest season progresses, the National Grain and Feed Association (NGFA) and other agricultural representatives are awaiting the results of a federal mediation process regarding the Lower Snake River dams in the greater Pacific Northwest, which play a critical role in the U.S. supply chain. Breaching the Lower Snake River dams has been proposed by some entities as a solution to salmon population decline. The four dams – Lower Granite, Little Goose, Lower Monumental, and Ice Harbor – are the subject of a decades-long dispute over salmon and other fish species in the Columbia-Snake River basin.

Captain Jeremy Nielsen’s role in the transportation chain that takes wheat to market is mostly unseen to farmers, but without him, their grain would be dead in the water. Nielsen is a river pilot, responsible for navigating ocean-going vessels through the lower Columbia River. Using a ladder on the outside of the ship, river pilots board as vessels pass under the bridge in Astoria, relieving bar pilots who are responsible for bringing vessels over the bar at the mouth of the river.

Through the first half of 2023, Idaho is on pace to set a record for total agricultural export value for the third straight year. Idaho businesses exported $603 million worth of agricultural products to other countries during the first six months of 2023, according to recently released U.S. Census Bureau data. That was 10 percent more than the $548 million worth of ag products exported from Idaho during the same period in 2022, which was a record year for the state for ag export value. In 2022, a record $1.13 billion worth of ag products were exported from Idaho, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.