The USDA issued a preliminary report on the wheat crop condition in the United States. The report showed that the quality and condition of the wheat crop has worsened as a cold snap is hitting the Midwest. Conditions in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas have worsened of late as a result of this cold snap. A [...]
In the farming community, a daily drop that hits the Chicago Board of Trade’s daily limit is considered to be a “plummet”. We reported to you last week that acres planted by farmers for corn and soybeans are going to hit some highs not seen since the bumper plantings in the 1930′s. Following up on [...]
We keep tabs on the global situation for food prices. The US military believes that the price of food on a global basis can be one of the greatest sources of unrest and conflict. From an economic perspective, US consumers spend about 13% of their household income on food (including eating out). Other countries that [...]
The commodities sector is interesting because what is sometimes good for the commodity trade is bad for consumers and businesses – and vice versa. So, we have a situation where we are getting a mixed bag of news – largely because of the strong winter weather that has hit the nation’s grain belt over the [...]
Remember when we wrote about the lessons gained during the Dust Bowl era? Especially the one regarding wheat and how quickly it can rebound after a small amount of rain? We are getting another great example of this recovery in wheat production estimates as a result of recent moisture content improving across the grain belts [...]
Grain prices are generally settling a bit despite what would seem to be a continued drought in the United States. Even US Wheat is facing price pressure despite areas of the nation’s Midwest that are facing a complete loss of crops. One interview with a grain district manager in Oklahoma said that this year’s crop [...]
It may seem surprising because the United States is still seeing significant growing regions still in drought conditions. But, the USDA has said that its forecast for 2013 wheat is improving – but not because of what may happen in the United States. The USDA cut its forecast for wheat because of what is happening [...]
It may be hard to believe but commodity prices are generally a bit softer in late trading this week on fears that global demand could be dropping. Reuters reported that export sales from the US were about 192,000 tons for the latest week, which were about 600,000 tons short of forecast. This included a cancellation [...]
The USDA update on the corn harvest forecast showed that the harvest was going a bit worse than expected. The USDA cut its estimates for production and the beginning inventory stocks going into the 2013 planting season, saying that it had reduced its forecast for beginning stocks by more than 193 million bushels. It also [...]
Soybeans are a $1.95 a bushel higher than it was a year ago. And although the forecast of easing temperatures next week and the weak jobs numbers report this morning helped to ease all commodities – we still see some significant strength in the crops futures. To add some speculation into the mix, China went [...]
