First Thing Today Audio | July 28, 2021
Corn futures are trading low-range and mixed after two-sided action overnight. Soybean futures also saw two-sided action overnight and the market is currently paring losses and down 1 to 3 cents. Spring wheat futures have shot 9 to 18 cents higher, pulling the winter wheat market 10 to 14 cents higher. The U.S. dollar index and crude oil futures are slightly higher.
Heat advisories are once again in effect from South Dakota and the southern half of Minnesota to the Gulf and into eastern Illinois. The sultry weather could kick up some thunderstorms with severe wind gusts, large hail flash flooding and tornadoes Wednesday afternoon and night across the Upper Midwest, the National Weather Service warns.
Scouts on Day 1 of the Wheat Quality Council’s annual spring wheat tour found an average spring wheat yield of just 29.5 bu. per acre. That’s well below 2019’s 45.6 bu. per acre and the five-year average of 43.3 bu. per acre.
Federal Reserve officials will resume deliberations today about how and when to begin paring their asset purchases amid an economic rebound clouded by supply-chain bottlenecks and rising Covid-19 cases. The central bank at the end of last year said it would continue to purchase $120 billion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities monthly until officials deemed they had achieved “substantial further progress” towards their goals.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday recommended a return to indoor masking in public settings even for vaccinated Americans in places experiencing “substantial” or “high” coronavirus transmission rates. The CDC also signaled that schools should implement universal face-covering policies for students and teachers regardless of their vaccination status.
Senators negotiating the terms of a $579-billion infrastructure plan settled some of the issues holding up an agreement. A dispute over spending levels on water projects appeared to be resolved, according to Senators Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).
Canada’s inadequate implementation of new market access for U.S. dairy, Mexico’s foot-dragging on ag biotech approvals, and the lack of a chief ag negotiator nominee were some of the key ag-related issues that surfaced during a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday held to mark the first anniversary of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Some light cash cattle trade got underway at $124.50 in the Iowa market yesterday, with a few animals moving at $121 in Nebraska. But all was quiet at other locations. Boxed beef prices have been climbing for nearly a week, and gains are picking up some momentum.
Lean hog futures saw some light profit-taking yesterday, but the near-term trend of the market still favors market bulls. August lean hog futures ended yesterday nearly $5 under the CME lean hog index, which has recently trended sideways. Cash hog bids slipped a national average of 45 cents on Tuesday.
