Grains pushed through the first full week of September with a mix of bearish and bullish headlines, but mostly of the latter as a weaker U.S. Dollar, wet weather, and decent export numbers being supportive. Corn was the shining star for the week, up 3.5% in Chicago, mainly supported by ethanol being up more than… Read more »
Tag: USDA
US Corn and Soybeans Forecast to Smash Records (But Futures Traders Aren’t So Sure)
They’re not splashing in the green pool or swinging from the parallel bars in Rio, but like their athletic compatriots, American farmers are breaking records. That’s if you believe the latest numbers from the US Department of Agriculture. The USDA issued its monthly supply/demand report on Friday. Here are some of the upsets/highlights: A 7.1 bushels/acre… Read more »
Volunteer GE Wheat Plants Found in Washington
The US Department of Agriculture confirmed another discovery of rogue genetically engineered wheat plants on Friday. A total of 22 volunteer GE plants were found by a farmer in an unplanted field in Washington State. The department says the plants contain the protein found in MON 71700, the glyphosate-resistant GE wheat developed by Monsanto. The… Read more »
Musical Chairs — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grain markets rode the roller coaster this week as a myriad of factors played into movements across the complex. Currencies, oil prices, weather forecasts, and money flow played a part in helping the market maintain or increase elevated levels. The oilseed market had a strong finish into the close of trading for the week, as oilseeds… Read more »
Tough Inclinations — This Week in the Grain Markets
The grain markets ended the month of March with fanfare on the backs of the U.S.D.A.’s March 31st stocks and acreage report and China switching up some policy. Beijing decided to scrap its minimum support prices for corn, pushing domestic corn prices immediately down to 5-year lows as the domestic price needs to gap down… Read more »
How Much Corn? USDA’s First Acreage Estimate Seen as Very Bearish
Grain traders are questioning whether the USDA played an early April Fool’s Day joke with its corn acreage projection in the department’s March 31st acreage estimates. The Prospective Plantings Report included a projection of 93.6 million acres of corn in 2016, well beyond the trade’s average expectation of just under 90 million. The soybean acreage… Read more »
Canola Crush Hits Record High
Evidence is adding up to show Western Canada really did grow a big canola crop last year, despite the drought. A combination of ample supplies, expanded crush capacity and the lower Canadian dollar are driving a rapid pace in canola consumption this year, both domestically and through exports. Canadian canola crush is up 12 percent from last… Read more »
In the Eye of the Storm — This Week in the Grain Markets
Grains started the month of March fairly hot, trying to rebound from its end of February, with more liquidity being added to the market and more bulls coming to the table on weather concerns. Nonetheless, given the size of the short position that managed money is holding on the futures board, there are some fundamentals… Read more »
Tote Bags Identified as Most Likely Carrier of PEDv In U.S.
A U.S. government agency has identified what it believes is the most likely way the devastating PED virus entered the country and infected millions of pigs. The findings are both surprising and a reminder that biosecurity plans must be thorough. The USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service considered 17 plausible scenarios that could explain how PED and similar… Read more »
Grain Markets Shocked by Higher USDA Estimates
The USDA took grain markets by surprise with the numbers in its August supply/demand report on Wednesday morning. Corn, soybeans and canola futures dropped sharply following the much larger than expected production and ending stock estimates. Soybean ending stocks for 2015-16 were pegged at 470 million bushels — up from the USDA’s estimate of 425 million, and significantly higher than… Read more »
Grain Market Spikes Following June 30th Reports from USDA and StatsCan
Grain and oilseed markets were green across the board on Tuesday after the USDA and Statistics Canada dropped a heavy load of new information into the market. The USDA released updated acreage and stocks estimates while StatsCan shared its acreage projections based on a farmer survey in early June. New crop soybean futures jumped more… Read more »
Weather Forecasts, Crop Ratings and WASDE — This Week in the Grain Markets
Five, ten and fifteen day weather forecasts are all the rage these days as mathematical models built by market players (hedge funds and commercials) start to calculate the effects of rain, soil temperatures, and any other data point that you can think of. Some cooler, wetter weather is being forecasted for the American Midwest this week,… Read more »
More Corn and Fewer Soybean Acres Than Expected — a Canadian Perspective on the March 31st USDA Acreage and Stocks Reports
After months of anticipation, the grain and oilseed market finally got to see the U.S.D.A.’s acreage estimates for 2015 on Tuesday morning. While traders had braced themselves for some surprises and volatility, most of the numbers in both the Prospective Plantings and Quarterly Grain Stocks reports fell within the range of expectations. However, the numbers… Read more »
Wheat Stocks Raised, as USDA Confirms Large Global Crops
Prices for wheat, corn, soybeans and canola all declined on Tuesday following the release of the USDA’s February supply/demand report. “(The report) confirmed what the markets were thinking,” says Neil Townsend, director of market research with CWB in the interview posted below. “U.S. numbers were pretty firm — they’re not going to change the production… Read more »
Fewer Winter Wheat Acres, But No Major Surprises — January USDA Report Highlights
Fewer winter wheat acres were planted than what the market thought, but other than that, the first USDA report of the new year, released Monday morning, did not contain any major surprises. “This really was a wave of new numbers for the market to digest, and yet if you look across the whole scope of it, there’s… Read more »