Michigan September Agricultural Prices

Nov 02, 2015

Prices received by Michigan farmers for the full month of September 2015 are listed in the table below. Some Michigan highlights were: September corn, at $3.73 per bushel, increased $0.04 from August and increased $0.18 from last year; September soybeans, at $8.92 per bushel, decrea sed $1.48 from last month and decreased $2.28 from last year; September wheat, at $5.50 per bushel, decreased $0.17 from August and decreased $0.07 from last year; September milk, at $17.20 per cwt., increased $1.20 from last month, and decreased $9.00 fro m last year.

The September Prices Received Index (Agricultural Production), at 98, decreased 3.9 percent from August. At 87, the Crop Production Index decreased 1.1 percent. At 109, the Livestock Production Index decreased 6.8 percent. Producers received lower prices for cattle, market eggs, broilers, and hogs but higher prices for lettuce, milk, apples, and sweet corn.

In addi tion to prices, the indexes are influenced by the monthly mix of commodities producers market. Increased monthly movement of soybea ns, corn, potatoes, and calves offset the decreased marketing of beef cattle, wheat, cotton, and barley. The Prices Received Index is down 8.4 percent from the previous year. The Food Commodities Index, at 103, decreased 6.4 percent from the previous mont h and is down 13 percent from September 2014.

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.