The USDA and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) report that was of main interest was the acreage report released in late June. The results showed estimated national acres planted to corn up 3% from 2018 to 91.7 million acres and soybeans down 10% from 2018 to 80 million acres. The belief is that many acres [...]
News & Insights
2019 Season Progress
October 18, 2019WOTUS Update
October 15, 2019In our previous newsletter we discussed the ongoing deliberation of a 2015 rule put in place by the EPA and Department of the Army that expanded the scope of the “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) definition, increasing government oversight for items such as ditches, groundwater (including groundwater drained through subsurface drainage systems) and artificial [...]
Trade War Creates Murky Global Picture for Soybeans
October 7, 2019As the seasons change over from summer to autumn, the soybean fields nearest our offices in Illinois and Iowa have just begun to drop their leaves. The late planting across the Midwest has pushed harvest back and could affect yields. In next quarter’s newsletter, once harvest has been completed, we will be presenting an in-depth [...]
Public Auction Slated For Iconic Stanley’s Fresh Fruit And Vegetables Grocery Store And Associated Real Estate
October 3, 2019Paine Wetzel Commercial Real Estate and MWA Capital Advisors are set to sell the former Stanley’s Fresh Fruit and Vegetables property located at the corner of North Avenue and Elston Avenue on Chicago’s North Side at public auction on Tuesday, November 19, 2019 at 10AM at the Crowne Plaza Chicago West Loop. Ed Wabick, [...]
Ongoing Changes with the Clean Water Rule
August 26, 2019The Clean Water Rule (CWR) was formulated in 2015 by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Army Corps of Engineers in an attempt to clarify what wetlands and waterways should fall under the federal government’s oversight. The rule has been a hotly debated topic since its formulation. Many landowners suddenly found themselves with land [...]
WILL All Day Ag Outlook Meeting 2019
August 12, 2019Murray Wise enjoyed discussing the farmland market at the WILL All Day Ag Outlook Meeting at the Beef House in Covington, IN. Murray spoke on a number of current issues concerning the farmland market. A recap of his presentation and a discussion with Daniel Grant of Farm Week can be seen in the article “Gap [...]
Family Farm Relief Act Of ‘19 Introduced To Senate
August 8, 2019A bipartisan bill, the “Family Farmer Relief Act of 2019”, has been introduced in the Senate to make Chapter 12 bankruptcies accessible to more family farms in need of debt relief. Our friends at Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP have summarized the advantages this could provide small to mid-sized farming operations as compared to [...]
Meat Alternatives And “Beyond” – A Growth Opportunity
August 5, 2019The recent initial public offering of Beyond Meat, a producer of plant-based meat substitutes, was a great reminder that what once were niche products (plant-based alternatives to conventional animal foods) are becoming a diverse and growing segment in the food and beverage industry for incumbents and new players alike. Given the market response to the [...]
Celebrating Local Entrepreneurs
August 1, 2019MWA would like to congratulate the nine Parkland College students who presented their business plans at the CobraVenture pitch showcase. Elizabeth Allen of Mahomet was named the winner by the judges and has received funding for her business, Central Illinois Vinyl. MWA supports the CobraVenture program with the goal of helping young entrepreneurs in Central [...]
California Snowpack Rebounds In ‘19
July 29, 2019The Sierra snowpack is 33 times bigger this year than last year’s snowpack. This winter featured a long succession of storms crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains, leading to the large increase in snowpack. The added snowpack and heavier than usual rains in the Central Valley have equated to full water allocations for many water districts. [...]