Scott Irwin

May 27, 2024 | m.farms.com | Scott Irwin

By Scott IrwinThere is no shortage of information on the problem of global warming due to increased CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. A good overview can be found at the NASA website here. It may seem obvious, but it is worth re-stating that climate change is a global phenomenon typically measured in terms of global averages. Less attention has been paid to changes in the climate for smaller geographic areas, like the U.S. Corn Belt.

Apr 30, 2024 | farmdocdaily.illinois.edu | Hongxia Jiao |Scott Irwin

The latest Crop Progress report from the USDA showed that 27 percent of U.S. corn acreage was planted as of April 28, 2024. This is five percentage points above the average for this date over 2019-2023. However, wet conditions in many parts of the Corn Belt have slowed planting progress, with more rainfall in the forecast for the next 10 to 14 days.

Oct 27, 2023 | scotthirwin.com | Scott Irwin

I was deeply saddened to hear of the passing of Luther Tweeten this week. He was truly a giant in the field of agricultural economics. Luther was a global authority on agricultural policy for decades. He published over 500 scholarly articles during his long career, including more than I can count in the American Journal of Agricultural Economics, the flagship journal of our profession.

Oct 13, 2023 | onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Scott Irwin

REFERENCES , & (1981). Cross hedging. Journal of Political Economy, 89(6), 1182–1196. , , , & (2009). Cross-hedging distillers dried grains using corn and soybean meal futures contracts. Journal of Agribusiness, 27(345–2016–15312), 1–15. , , & (1998). Hedging hard red winter wheat: Kansas city versus Chicago. Journal of Futures Markets, 18(4), 449–466. (2023). Renewable diesel & biodiesel margins report, Market Insights: AEGIS Hedging.

Oct 9, 2023 | farmdocdaily.illinois.edu | Hongxia Jiao |Scott Irwin

A perennial question in the grain markets is the impact of weather during different parts of the growing season on final yield. While every growing season is unique in some respects, it is well-known that weather during certain periods is generally a more important determinant of final yield than others, with the crucial reproductive periods for corn and soybeans a prominent example. What is not as well-known is the relative magnitude of such impacts.