USDA Reports
With markets in a pivotal paradigm, farmers and traders alike are waiting in anticipation for USDA’s Quarterly Grain Stocks report to see if it can provide any bullish news.
In their Friday report, USDA noted that as of September 1 corn stocks were up 130 million bushels more than the average trade guess.
Trade uncertainty, large yields and excessive stocks create extra risk as farmers market their 2018 and 2019 crops.
As the week begins, Brian Splitt, a broker with Allendale Inc., and Tommy Grisafi, branch broker of Advance Trading, are talking to AgDay host Clinton Griffiths to discuss what they’re watching in commodity markets.
USDA reports stocks of corn, soybeans and wheat have fallen.
USDA estimated that U.S. growers will plant 97 million acres of corn this spring, an 8% increase over 2019, but analysts say recent sharp declines in ethanol production make it doubtful that number will hold true.
Chicago wheat futures hit a two-month low on Tuesday, pressured by improving U.S. winter wheat crop ratings, strong export competition and rising estimates of Australia’s harvest, analysts said.
January soybeans were up 6 cents at $11.75-3/4 a bushel after peaking earlier at $11.89-3/4, the highest for a most-active contract since June 13, 2016.
The drastic shift in prices from planting to harvest likely has farmers thinking a little differently about next year’s strategy than perhaps they expected.
The top exporters of Ukrainian wheat today are the Russians. Count it as one more injustice in Vladimir Putin’s cruel war of conquest.