The calendar turns to April next Wednesday. USDA’s first weekly crop update comes the following Monday, but state ag departments continue their weekly updates and the early picture for winter wheat shows damaged caused by temperature fluctuations the last 30, 45 days. Top producing state, Kansas, reporting good to excellent ratings now below 50%, well below USDA’s fall rating, 62%. And in fact, the lowest early spring …
Weather Impacts To Futures
Spring arrives on the calendar tomorrow, but it feels more like late summer in many areas of the country. Areas early week that were shoveling snow in the northern belt could be setting record highs tomorrow and Saturday. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin all could set highs after snow earlier in the week. Agronomists say the warm weather should help no-melt …
Grain and Livestock Futures Weaker
Grain and livestock futures remain weaker, though we think they’ll be more stable as we move toward Friday. A disappointing February soybean crush number only adds to uncertainty in the soybean complex, President Trump hinting that that March 31st meeting in Beijing could be delayed if China doesn’t help with security in the Strait of Hormuz. A delay in that meeting only delays a …
Labor Issues at Beef Plant in Colorado Impacting Markets
Labor issues at that JBS beef plant in Colorado plowed an otherwise positive beef trade in our review. Beef packer margins improving here last week. By the way, happy St. Patrick’s Day. The Irish and friends of Irish, heavy consumers of beef and various beverages as well. But spring coming up here at the end of the week, and that consumer demand we …
Market Fears Continue To Ease
Market fears continue to ease, a far cry from where we started the week. Monday this week, that VIX or fear index on Wall Street was soared past 35, the highest since COVID days in 2020. Today, that index dropping back toward 20, indicating a lot more calm on Wall Street, though 1516 is an accepted number. Likewise, crude oil near $120 a barrel …
Spike of Crude Oil Coming Down Slowly
Bottom Line analysts say the initial spike in crude oil has run its course for the most part in their view, but it will have a long tail, as they say. Prices stabilizing near $100, with a very slow decline. Countries and governments making alternative plans. Grains have followed higher from a distance. Really no news on their own to warrant such an increase, …
More Details From the January Peanut Stocks Report
Looking at more details on the peanut stocks and processing published by USDA, they said for January, peanut butter demand creeped up just a little bit, and it’s looking a little bit better, was everything else was still down. January 25th or January 24th compared, peanut candy was down 6.07%. Peanut snacks also down 9.97%. Peanut butter was up just a little, 0.94%, less …
January Peanut Stocks Report Released
USDA’s stocks and processing for peanuts shows that for the month of January, that’s the sixth month of the marketing year, peanut stocks and commercial storage total 5.55 billion pounds, and that compares to last year’s 4.14, and that is up 34 percent. The market’s almost flooded. They said even farmer stock peanuts are up 33 percent in volume. Shell peanuts showed that they …
Big Sell Off of Live Cattle
Weather coming in like a lion in many areas around the country, but so is the cattle trade, keeping an eye on live cattle and feeder cattle. Big sell-off late last week, many suggesting month-end selling. Strike potentially at Greeley, Colorado plant, and we understand that grievance is not all about money there. And when you add the Tyson plants, set-downs and slow-downs at …
Crop Production Forecasts Presented at USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum
The U.S. Department of Agriculture presented the crop forecasts for the upcoming season during the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum. USDA economist Bryn Swearingen provided the forecast for corn, soybeans and wheat. Swearingen said, “While corn acres are forecasted down to 94 million, this is still the third highest on record, and soybeans are forecasted to have a recovery to 85 million …










