AgDay
Hosted by Haley Bickelhaupt, AgDay provides the nation’s farmers and ranchers with the latest news, weather and business headlines, and features the people and places unique to the industry and small-town America.
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Latest News
This week’s USDA report had positive news for farmers, with both on farm stocks and planted acres being lower than the trade was estimating.
This week’s price pull back is partly due to concern with the damage Gulf export facilities have suffered in the New Orleans area.
On Thursday, the USDA decreased the estimated national corn yield more than the trade was expecting. In the last 15 years, only 4 had estimated final yields higher in the January report compared to August’s.
The market is trying to determine what the upcoming harvest yields will be. Early reports where harvest has started south of I-80 are positive.
This week the corn and bean markets were dominated by upcoming weather uncertainty and Friday’s Supreme Court ruling against the ethanol industry and potentially the entire renewable fuels industry.
Corn and beans continue trading within tight ranges. Yield estimates seem less certain than usual for this time of year. Therefore, a sideways market may be likely until the September USDA report is released.
This week the USDA decreased the 2020 corn carryout, which lowered the stock to use ratio (i.e., the total usage compared to total production) to 2012 marketing year levels.
The USDA report found an additional 246 million bushels to add to the production side of the balance sheets.
In 12 of the last 15 years December corn futures have had a pullback in August or September. This seasonal trend is usually due to several factors.
Both July and December corn futures closed higher this week compared to the end of last week and are still at or above levels from 3 weeks ago.