Pam Caraway

Florala

Agriculture evangelist. Writer. Family woman. Survivor. A traveling girl who comes to ground in a tiny town in LA (Lower Alabama). Opinions are my own.

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Articles

Caraway Index reveals true price

1 week ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

Getting saucy with food economics is a creative way to get folks to pay attention to what’s happening with their grocery bill. A tip of the tongs to Rabobank for their ingenuity. That said, let’s flip the narrative with a more southern tone. Granted, I’m just a transplant but I married through and through Alabama fellow. First, in the south there is no such thing as a barbecue, just as there isn’t a grit. In the south we eat barbecue, as in pork butt.
Trump's economic strategy puts family farms at risk, experts warn

1 week ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

This column calls for a warning, kind of like a movie rating. Here it is:For those who voted for and support President Donald Trump, be aware this content raises questions about his economic strategy. For those who didn’t support Trump at the ballot box or who no longer agree with his leadership style, don’t expect fury and condemnation here. Instead, I want to address the risk of losing family farms if we stay on this road. So, here we go.
Farm business failures loom as economic pressures mount

2 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Bruce Blythe |Pam Caraway

“Some producers are going to go out of business.”David Kohl, the venerable economist known across the agricultural industry, repeated that message over and over during meeting season between 2024 harvest and 2025 planting. Whether he was speaking to farmers or bankers, the message was the same: If you’re a farmer, figure out how not to be one of those businesses. If you’re a banker, do what you can to guide your client through this time.
Rabobank analyzes economic factors

2 weeks ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway |Bruce Blythe |Ben Potter

Consumers may simply see a 4% increase in the cost of a Memorial Day BBQ, but farmers who look at the agricultural economics behind those numbers can find hot opportunities and cold financial realities. The cumulative result is the cost of an all-American BBQ is up from $73 in 2018 to $103 this year. And that’s without including a deviled egg on the plate.
4 questions to consider before purchase

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

Equipment decisions for your farm aren’t a function of the national ag economy. And buying a piece of farm machinery isn’t a tax bill decision. Whether to buy a piece of equipment hinges on four questions:Does it make your operation more efficient? How does it impact your liquidity? The first question isn’t whether it’s a good deal; it’s whether the purchase presents an opportunity. The most rewarding one may be equipment that resolves labor needs.
Romantic risk management for farm couples

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

“In all the world you’ll never find a love as true as mine.” — George StraitIn that first — and hopefully last — marital rodeo, George Strait’s words are the soundtrack of the betrothed couple’s days. And a nuptial agreement should be one of the verses. Illinois-based attorney Cari Rincker can even count 10 ways nuptial agreements are romantic. A nuptial agreement — whether pre- or post-marriage — is about “trying to make sure that other person is taken care of financially,” Rincker says.
Why it matters for farmers

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

The wise nurse looked me straight in the eyes the morning after the emergency room doctor told my aunt and me that my grandmother suffered a catastrophic brain bleed. Gram was in a coma and would not recover. And yet, the next morning, a different doctor had ordered a stack of tests. Gram didn’t want that. She had a living will. But folks have to bring those documents to the hospital each time. The hospital doesn’t keep them on file.
Preserving family farms through sustainable practices

1 month ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

Call it carbon farming, carbon sequestration or carbon intensity. Start the conversation at any point but understand that carbon simply is the topic that brings people to the table. The endgame is preserving family farms. “Carbon brought people to the table to start having the conversations,” says Jared Knock, a South Dakota farmer and a co-founder of AgSpire. AgSpire, founded in 2021, is focused on supporting farmers through early adoption of sustainability practices.
Will Trump’s tariffs tighten corn markets or swell supplies?

2 months ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

The market seemed to have higher corn acres built into futures prices, according to trading in the wake of Monday’s Prospective Plantings Report from USDA. Despite “somewhat of a negative report,” Iowa farmer Matthew Kruse said, “We're actually trading up higher.
Looking for $5.38 corn?

2 months ago | farmprogress.com | Pam Caraway

“If you want to get $5.38 cash corn right now, you just got to ship it to Mato Grosso,” advises Matthew Kruse, a farmer with operations in Iowa and Brazil. Kruse smiles when he says it. He’s joking. But maybe he is a bit wishful: If only he could export U.S. corn for that price. Because $5.38 is the spot price in Brazil. “It's very unusual that we see it trading to this much of a premium over Chicago,” says Kruse, who also is president of Commstock Investments.