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Good Morning farm country. Davis Michaelsen here with your morning update for Thursday, March 4. From Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today, these are some of the stories we are watching this morning:
Corn futures are trading midrange and fractionally higher. Soybeans are 8 cents higher in the front month and 2 to 4 cents higher in deferred contracts after a quiet overnight session. SRW wheat futures are down 1 to 2 cents, while HRW and HRS wheat futures are posting similar gains. Crude oil futures are marginally higher, with the greenback also posting gains.
A relatively mild winter for Russia has improved winter grain conditions for a crop that had dealt with dryness during the fall, according to the weather forecaster Hydrometcentre. It detailed that in December, 22% of winter grain was in poor condition, marking a seven-year high. But now it says just 7% to 9% of the crop is in bad condition. That is still up from 4% last year at this time.
Global food prices climbed for the ninth month in a row during February, with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) food price index rising 2.4% from January.
Saudi Arabia and Russia are discussing a proposal to bring back a combined one million barrels a day of oil to global markets, the Wall Street Journal reported. The two sides are preparing to hammer out a deal as an alliance of some of the world’s biggest producers meets today.
The budget reconciliation measure used for the Covid aid plan the Senate is working on could trigger pay-as-you-go (PAYGO) budget rules and force cuts to farm support programs, according to Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-Ark.), something he says could potentially zero out farm program spending over the next five years.
The Senate Finance Committee Wednesday approved the nominations of Katherine Tai to be U.S. Trade Representative and Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo to be deputy Treasury secretary on a voice vote, sending the nominations ahead to the full Senate.
The North American Meat Institute has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to review an earlier ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit regarding the constitutionality of California’s Proposition 12: The Farm Animal Confinement Initiative. Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts said in a release. “If this unconstitutional law is allowed to stand, California will dictate farming practices across the nation.”
Cash cattle trade got underway yesterday around $114 in Kansas, Colorado, Nebraska and Texas, easing fears the cash market would soften after several weeks of sideways price action and a pullback in boxed beef values.
The pork cutout value plunged on Wednesday, with movement also dropping notably. Hams led the decline. The cutout value is down $3.72 for the week. Cash hog bids posted another strong gain at midweek, rising an average of $1.82 nationally.
