Prices for other commodities produced by Wisconsin farmers were mixed in January. The corn price was up to $4.12 a bushel—32 cents higher than in December and 46 cents more than last January. Soybeans brought $10.60 a bushel—up a half dollar from December and $1.97 more than a year ago. The January oat price was $4.07 a bushel–$1.29 more than December and $1.10 more than January, 2020. But hay prices were down as the all hay price was $153 a ton in January—down $14 from the end of last year and $33 less than last January. Alfalfa hay brought $161 a ton –$17 less than December and $30 less than last January.

Last week’s USDA Outlook Conference dealt with more than the size and prices of commodities. USDA economists also expect food price inflation this year to be between 2 and 3 percent. That includes prices for food eaten at home as well as food eaten in restaurants. Those numbers would be in line with changes in food prices over the past 20 years.

The government continues to issue end of the year numbers for agriculture. The latest numbers for the ethanol industry show some good news and some note so good news. According to numbers from the Renewable Fuels Association, ethanol exports totaled 1.3 billion gallons in 2020—a drop of 9% from 2019 and the lowest volume of exports since 2016. But the total volume of our ethanol exports was the 4th best on record as 1 of every 10 gallons produced was shipped out of the country. Canada continues to be our best ethanol customer as they bought 326 million gallons last year—down about 1 and a half percent from 2019. Brazil is second best, buying 200 million gallons in 2020, down about 40% from 2019. India is our third biggest buyer at 190 million gallons last year. Even China stepped up as they bought 13 million gallons in December.