Pro Farmer's First Thing Today: Sen. Bernie Sanders Proposes Tax Policy Updates, Snow in Wheat Country and More

Here are audio highlights from around the ag industry, courtesy of Pro Farmer.
Here are audio highlights from around the ag industry, courtesy of Pro Farmer.
(Pro Farmer)

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Good Morning farm country. Davis Michaelsen here with your morning update for Friday, April 16. From Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today, these are some of the stories we are watching this morning:

Corn futures held to a narrow, two-sided trading range overnight, with futures currently trading high-range and up 2 to 3 cents. The market has not yet challenged yesterday’s contract highs. Soybeans are up 5 to 9 cents, notching new highs for the week, with old-crop leading gains. Wheat futures are steady to 2 cents higher at week’s end. Crude oil is near unchanged, with the U.S. dollar index slightly lower.
 
Rain and snow fell across much of the HRW wheat producing region overnight, with moisture expected to continue today. The snow is not expected to harm crops; rather, the event will boost soil moisture across the region, with the exception of the Texas Panhandle and the western Oklahoma Panhandle, reports World Weather Inc.
 
China’s GDP rose a record 18.3% in the first quarter from year ago, a surge reflecting a big recovery its economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was also up from the fourth quarter 2020 result of 6.5%.
 
The U.S. housing market is 3.8 million single-family homes short of what is needed to meet demand, according to a new analysis by mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac. The estimate represents a 52% rise in the nation’s home shortage compared with 2018.
 
Tax loopholes and federal subsidies that benefit the oil, gas, and coal industries would be eliminated under a bill proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). The bill also proposes updating below-market royalty rates for oil and gas production on federal lands and prohibiting taxpayer-funded fossil fuel research.
 
Meanwhile, Private equity funding for the U.S. oil sector is drying up, prompting stricken operators to make "last gasp" efforts to boost production and cash flow to attract buyers, the Financial Times reports.
 
EPA is seeking input on biofuel policy beyond 2022 when the current authority for the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) expires, Reuters says, quoting four sources familiar with the situation. They say EPA is reaching out to the oil, corn and biofuel lobbies to “reshape the regulation.”
 
China’s first quarter pork production shot 31.9% higher vs. year-ago, marking the highest quarterly volume in two years, according to its National Bureau of Statistics. China has been working to rebuild its hog herd that was nearly halved by African swine fever in 2018 and 2019, with a resurgence of the virus hindering rebuilding efforts over the winter.
 
Cash cattle trade got underway yesterday at mostly steady prices. Trade occurred from $123 to $124 in the Iowa and Nebraska markets, with Colorado, Kansas and Texas reporting trade in the $120 to $121 vicinity. Boxed beef values continued upward.
 
Lean hog futures posted sharp to limit losses on Thursday, and daily trading limits will expand to $4.50 today. The market has posted a very impressive rally, but recent price action signals a top may be in the works. Cash hog bids climbed an average of $1.43 on Thursday.

 

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