Michigan April Agricultural Prices

Jun 07, 2016

Prices received by Michigan farmers for the full month of April 2016 are listed in the table below. Some Michigan highlights were: April corn, at $3.71 per bushel, increased $0.14 from March and decreased $0.07 from last year; April soybeans, at $9.12 per bushel, increased $0.35 from last m onth and decreased $0.88 from last year; April wheat, at $5.24 per bushel, decreased $0.01 from March and decreased $0.94 from last year; April milk, at $14.00 per cwt., decreased $0.10 from last month, and decreased $2.20 from last year.

The April Prices Received Index (Agricultural Production), at 93.0, increased 0.2 percent from March 2016. At 86.5, the Crop Production Index increased 4.2 percent. At 97.8, the Livestock Production Index decreased 2.4 percent. Producers received higher prices for broiler s, soybeans, lettuce, and hogs but lower prices for cattle, eggs, calves, and milk. Compared with a year earlier, the Prices Received Index is down 10 percent, the Crop Production Index decreased 2.4 percent and the Livestock Production Index declined 16 p ercent.

In addition to prices, the indexes are influenced by the monthly mix of commodities producers market. Increased monthly movement of strawberries, milk, oranges, and broilers offset the decreased marketing of corn, dry beans, cattle, and soybeans. T he Food Commodities Index, at 96.8, decreased 0.5 percent from the previous month and is down 13 percent from April 2015.

Source:usda.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.