Over the last three years, fertilizer prices have been among crop producers’ top concerns.While the period from 2020-22 witnessed the sharpest increase in fertilizer costs, it is not the first time farmers have grappled with such price spikes. Other notable years include 2008 and 2011-12 when costs surged by as much as 60%. As we wrap up the 2023 crop year, we take a look at what happened during this turbulent time and how things are shaping up for 2024.

The holiday season is a time to gather with family and friends to celebrate, but even for people surrounded by family and community, the holidays can be hard. Not all memories are joyful. Grief renews itself. Hopes and expectations are let down. Here are some things you can do to manage anxiety and depression that might creep in during the holidays from Dr. Angela Drake, a neuropsychologist at University of California Davis:

In a survey of 1,000 people in the United States and Canada who purchased gluten-free groceries — conducted by the food and beverage ingredient supplier Ingredion — 46 percent said they bought those products for reasons other than a medical condition. Among their top motivations: wanting to reduce inflammation or consume fewer artificial ingredients, believing that gluten-free products were healthier or more natural, and thinking that such products would help with weight loss.

Is flour production trending downward? Addressing an important health measure for the milling and flour-based foods industries, this seemingly straightforward question does not have a simple answer right now. While clearly showing a downward trend over the last four quarters, the 12-month snapshot of flour demand presents an incomplete picture. Production over the last four quarters lapped a period of marked strength for US flour production with outturn rising each quarter. Read more about U.S. flour production trends here

Kitchen table math can be a chore this time of year, as U.S. wheat farmers shovel their crop production costs into calculators, hoping the numbers they scoop out next year will be magically heavier than those they tossed in this year. But here’s a secret about the math of farming: it isn’t really magic. “There’s a lot of work and a lot of luck involved in making a profit in our business,” is how U.S. Wheat Associates Chairman Michael Peters put it. “The numbers are rarely where you need them to be or where you want them to be.”

For months, the wheat markets had been under serious bearish pressure primarily due to Russia's nearly complete dominance of world export markets, but also the sheer lack of U.S. wheat exports. Finally, additional soft red winter wheat sales to China have been confirmed, with a new sale of 440,000 mt, or 16.1 mb, sold to China for 2023-24. As of November 28, the CFTC reported that managed money funds were carrying a large net short position of 124,000 contracts, with fund managers also short just under 50,000 contracts of KC wheat.

China booked its largest purchase of U.S. wheat since at least 2020, buying 440,000 metric tons of the grain, the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed on Monday. The sale comes after China's 2023 wheat crop suffered quality issues after heavy rain hit key growing areas just ahead of the harvest, analysts said. The sales also provide a welcome shot in the arm for lagging U.S. wheat exports, which the USDA has projected will fall to a 52-year low in the 2023/24 marketing year that began June 1.