Morning Coffee and Ag Markets

Episode 93 - Chapter 12 Bankruptcy Filings are up 20%, Underscoring the Impact of the Farm Safety Net on Crop Farmers

Chapter 12 bankruptcy filings are up 20% year over year, with Arkansas leading the nation. Hunter Biram, Ryan Loy and LSU's Mike Deliberto break down where filings are concentrated, why rising input costs have eaten into recent crop price gains, and what the new farm bill's higher rice reference price means for Delta producers facing payment limitations.

Episode 92 - The long grain rice world market price for the 2025 crop approaches the USDA marketing loan rate for the fourth time since 2001

This week on Morning Coffee and Ag Markets, Hunter Biram visits with Arkansas Agricultural Hall of Fame inductee Carl Brothers about the history of rice marketing assistance loans, world market price calculations, and the growing possibility of loan deficiency payments (LDPs). Drawing on more than 50 years in the rice industry, Brothers explains how rice policy has evolved, why global competitiveness matters, and what current market conditions could mean for rice producers.

Episode 91 - Analyzing the relationship between the yield ratio and optimal crop insurance coverage levels

Hunter Biram is joined by Enil Serrano and Grant Gardner to discuss the Crop Insurance Decision Maker, a web-based tool developed by the University of Arkansas and University of Kentucky that evaluates expected net returns across different crop insurance and farm program scenarios. They walk through key findings on how a farm's yield relative to the county average shapes the optimal coverage level, and why skipping crop insurance altogether is rarely the right call.

Episode 90 - Rice Farmers Face Limited Adjustment Capacity Under the Expanding Access to Risk Protection (EARP) Rule

USDA's new Expanding Access to Risk Protection (EARP) rule eliminates the option for producers to purchase an additional 5 percentage points of prevented planting coverage. In this episode, Hunter Biram and Ryan Loy discuss what this change means for rice producers, how it affects flexibility within crop insurance decisions, and why Arkansas farmers may be particularly impacted given their reliance on prevented planting coverage. The conversation also explores trends in rice insurance participation, adjustment capacity, and potential implications for future risk management decisions.

Episode 89 - Prevented Planting: When (if ever) is it a good business decision to take the PP indemnity?

This week’s Morning Coffee and Ag Markets Podcast revisits a 2025 episode on prevented planting decisions for Arkansas rice producers as the 2026 final planting date arrives. Hunter Biram and Ryan Loy discuss when prevented planting may be financially preferable to planting using simulated yield and price scenarios. While commodity prices referenced in the original episode have changed, the core concepts and risk management considerations remain relevant, including the role of pre-plant costs, expected returns, and second-crop soybean opportunities.