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Good Morning farm country. Davis Michaelsen here with your morning update for Friday, January 29. From Pro Farmer’s First Thing Today, these are some of the stories we are watching this morning:
Corn futures are working higher, with old-crop leading the market to the upside and futures up 2 to 7 cents. So far, the market has not challenged Thursday’s new contract highs. Soybean futures also strengthened overnight, and futures are 7 to 10 cents higher through the November contract. Spillover support has helped lift the wheat complex 3 to 7 cents, but the market remains well off its weekly highs. The U.S. dollar index is posting modest gains, as are crude oil futures.
U.S. soybean exports have rocketed higher and our crushers have been processing historically high amounts of the oilseed. Already, reports have surfaced that exporters are no longer offering soy products for export this summer due to tightening supplies. At least on paper, the U.S. is set to run out of beans.
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), the incoming Democratic Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman, lauded the Biden administration’s review of $2.3 billion in supplemental CFAP aid, saying the Trump administration plan didn’t address provisions in the final legislation calling for assistance for farm workers, smaller food processors and others involved in the supply chain.
Combating climate change and fixing Covid-19-driven food supply disruptions will top the Senate Agriculture Committee’s agenda, mirroring the Biden administration’s priorities, according to Stabenow.
Government debt approached levels last seen in the aftermath of World War II, as nations stepped up spending to fight the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic fallout. The International Monetary Fund said public debt as a share of global gross domestic product surged to 98% by the end of December from 84% at the end of 2019.
President Biden reportedly wants to return to the Obama era WOTUS rule. Biden on Jan. 20 announced that the EPA and the Defense Department would review Trump’s narrow federal waters definition. The Trump rule, known as the Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR), lifted federal jurisdiction over some small streams and ditches.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters the House will vote next week on a budget resolution, the first step in setting up a fast-track plan to push through Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus bill without Republican support.
Cattle futures set back a bit on Thursday as traders readied for USDA’s semi-annual cattle inventory report, which is expected to signal a slight dip in the U.S. cattle herd relative to year-ago. But the trend of these markets remains higher. Cash cattle prices improved in the Iowa market yesterday. Kansas and Nebraska saw steady trade.
There has been no shortage of speculation Chinese pork buying would slow early this year, but weekly updates have reflected no such retreat. Cash hog bids edged 26 cents higher nationally yesterday and the pork cutout value jumped $2.38 amid decent movement.
