The numbers came in above trade estimates but were lower than the previous months’ report. The USDA kept the U.S. ending stocks at 1.540 billion bushels and lowered the world ending stocks to 302.22 million tonnes while reducing Brazil’s yield. Following the report, it came off the highs for the day before roaring back up to end the day. Thursday’s trade was interesting as halfway through trading, the markets did a 180-degree turn and fell lower on the day after being sharply higher across the board for a large intraday range. This was brought on by producers selling and speculative positions taking profits. The large intraday volatility has not been as present in the market as this summer, but Thursday’s trade is a sign that volatility should be expected at these price levels. The USDA’s numbers for Brazil and Argentina are still above what private analysts and CONAB are reporting. The market seems to be on the analysts’ side when it comes to the struggles in South America. The weather outlook remains the same for the trouble areas as it will be hot and dry in the same areas and wet in the same.
Soybeans continued their run higher despite Thursday’s pullback. The most significant change in the report came to soybeans as the USDA lowered Argentina’s production by 1.5 million tonnes and Brazil’s 5 million. As much of a correction that the USDA made, some analysts still feel these are too high, and their crop will continue to get smaller. With the continued hot and dry weather in Argentina and southern Brazil mixed with the wet harvest in northern Brazil, mother nature is not doing South America’s crops any favors. CONAB released their estimates on Thursday and were well below the USDA numbers, so it’s safe to listen to their numbers and analysts over the USDA right now, it would appear. The two-year chart is below so that you can see the journey of how we got to this point with the great run since early November. Thursday produced the same wild volatility as corn, which saw a 67 ½ cent range while falling off the highs.
The equity markets have been quieter lately, with small gains on the week, but the uncertainty of what lies ahead remains. The inflation number came in at 7.5% year over year, the highest increase since February 1982. With inflation sticking around and treasury yields jumping, the 10-year treasury topped 2% for the first time since August 2019; it is understandable why the markets have the jitters. Will the market hang out where it is, retest the lows, or try to continue to claw back its losses from January? The market can’t figure it out, so I won’t try to predict for you.
Tune in as biotech guru Dr. Channa S. Prakash discusses everything from Alabama football, genetics as one of the most extensive agricultural advancements, the most significant risk factors to feeding the world over the next 30-50 years, plus everything in between.
Why producing crop plants with a much gentler footprint on the natural resources will help feed the growing population. How 75% of the world’s patents in agriculture gene editing are coming from China. Understanding that trying to impose restrictions on our ability to grow food can be a considerable risk to agriculture. Listen to hear about these topics and more!
Whether you’re a producer, end-user, commercial operator, RCM AG Services helps protect revenues and control costs through its suite of hedging tools and network of buyers/sellers — Contact Ag Specialist Brady Lawrence today at 312-858-4049 or [email protected].
There was better trading in futures this week, but March opened the limit and locked. The back months had good volume, and July and Sept never hit the limit. At this point, you can exit your March shorts one way or another. That brings us to the next question: What does “life after limit” look like? If you take out the limit downs and the limit ups, we are sitting in the same area with the same dynamics. There is still good demand. Shipping out of the west is a mess, and trucking throughout North America is getting worse. And finally, we just moved closer to the Q2 buy.
The sell-off was a good indicator of a flow of wood through the system, and the rally right back indicates a continued fear that the flow will slow again. I think the industry is doing an excellent job keeping supplies flowing in. Since December, they have been buying “time” and fearing an upset chain. So today, it isn’t tomorrow’s ship time but rather next month’s ship time, and no one has that answer.
Any more bad news from the supply side will set the market off again, while any slowing in demand will force another sell-off. Buckle up….
Let’s Get Technical:
Elliot Wave is not voodoo economics, but that was funny. The biggest takeaway is that markets trade in waves, and in percentage terms, the lumber futures waves are easing in the distance. The corrective wave ran into support and a 20% RSI at a higher level this time down, keeping the cycle positive. We are looking for the top end where the market hits real resistance. Historically, the 1st quarter has strong support and weaker resistance areas, which is seasonal and consistent.
Weekly Round-Up:
$1,200 is not a happy medium, and the risk in both directions is substantial. We have never been in a place that could potentially have a $400 push up or $400 down. Time will ease the upside pressure, and the downside will be around for a while. Position accordingly.
About The Leonard Report
The Leonard Lumber Report is a new column that focuses on the lumber futures market’s highs and lows and everything else in between. Our very own, Brian Leonard, risk analyst, will provide weekly commentary on the industry’s wood product sectors.
Before You Go…
A special guest joins us for this episode of The Hedged Edge, who is well known for his many titles, which include Doctor, Editor-in-Chief, Dean, and Chief Academic Officer, just to name a few. Dr. Channa S. Prakash, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Tuskegee University, has served as faculty since 1989 and is a professor of crop genetics, biotechnology, and genomics. He is also well recognized for mentoring underrepresented minority students.
Tune in as biotech guru Dr. Prakash discusses everything from Alabama football, genetics as one of the most extensive agricultural advancements, the most significant risk factors to feeding the world over the next 30-50 years, plus everything in between. And as a bonus, we find out what sport he would be interested in playing if he went professional.
Corn suffered small losses this week, going a different direction than beans. Private estimates of the South American crop are consistently lower than the USDA’s last estimate, and we should see an adjustment on next week’s USDA report. The Chinese’s cancelation of 380,000 tonnes of corn was a drag on the market on Thursday. One cancelation is not the end of the world; it happens, but should we see a trend develop that could damper the bull sentiment right now. The driest areas of South America will continue to dry over the next couple of weeks, hurting their crop in those regions. Private estimates think that Argentina’s corn yield could be 43.5 million metric tons, while Brazil’s could be 112 MMT. These are well below the last USDA report’s numbers, so next week will be interesting to see how much the USDA adjusts their estimates.
Soybeans continued to move higher this week as the South American weather issues will probably significantly impact the soybean crop. The continued heat and dry weather will continue to stress the crop like corn. The market can’t go up every day, no matter what it seems like; the closing off the highs the last two trading days suggests the market may want to take a break until there is more news. Brazilian producers are still not selling, which has interior cash bids competitive with exporter bids. With this playing out in Brazil, the U.S. could see some more business as a result. Especially if China steps in and makes purchases out of the Pacific Northwest, keep an eye on drought conditions around the U.S. even though we are well out from planting as we have seen drier than normal weather in some growing areas to this point of the year.
Equities have made a strong rebound off the lows until Thursday’s struggles following some bad earnings report lead by Facebook’s (now Meta) major fall. Amazon posted a good quarter which may give investors some relief that Facebook’s problems were their own and not market wide. The bounce was nice to see from an investors point of view as a correction seemed to be done, but guidance from many companies has not been as growth friendly looking forward as the last year. Volatility may stick around for a while so do not expect the markets to recover as quickly as they fell.
Crude hit $90 this week for the first time since 2014, while Natural Gas also rose to over $5.500 before dipping back below $5 this week. Crude continues its move higher as OPEC+ does not plan to expand production while consumption remains strong. This is a classic higher demand without more supply price raise over the last two months, and many analysts see $100+/barrel as a possibility this spring. Higher fuel prices will affect farmers’ bottom lines as fuel expenses and shipping for other chemicals and fertilizers will be much higher this year on top of higher input costs. (5-year chart below for reference)
The February WASDE report will be released next Wednesday, February 9. This will be the primary driver of the week after weekend weather has its say in the market on Monday. This is not usually a major market mover, but it never hurts to be well-positioned and ready before a report.
Podcast
Tune in as biotech guru Dr. Channa S. Prakash discusses everything from Alabama football, genetics as one of the most extensive agricultural advancements, the most significant risk factors to feeding the world over the next 30-50 years, plus everything in between.
Why producing crop plants with a much gentler footprint on the natural resources will help feed the growing population. How 75% of the world’s patents in agriculture gene editing are coming from China. Understanding that trying to impose restrictions on our ability to grow food can be a considerable risk to agriculture. Listen to hear about these topics and more!
As of 2022, there are 7.9 billion people in the world, which is anticipated to hit 10 billion by 2050
Did you know that by 2050, the world is expected to feed almost 2 billion more people than we do today? As the global population continuously rises, a significant amount of food will need to be produced over the next 30 years.
But before you get to overwhelmed with that thought, it’s imperative to know that the need for more production creates opportunities. In fact, in 2020 alone, 19.7 million jobs were related to the agriculture and food sectors. We cover these areas in this What It Takes To Feed the World infographic. So, let’s take a closer look into how each of these categories work together to help pave the way to feeding 25% more of the population over the next couple of years. Here’s everything you’ll need to know:
Download the Infographic
FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS / INSURANCE
Due to inflation (we cover farm inflation here) and superior advancements in farming technology (seed, equipment, etc.), the cost of doing business is extraordinary.
As a result, banks and other financial institutions have become the pillar of the agriculture community. From financing farmers, purchase of seeds and chemicals to providing insurance to protect the farmers on through to commercial lending and trade finance programs; without banks, agriculture, as we know it today, does not exist. As a standalone example, consider that in the U.S. alone, during 2020, farm bank’ lending was $98.6 billion despite the global economic slowdown. As the demand to produce continues to grow, there is minimal question that the need for capital will grow along with it.
Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation & American Bankers Association Analysis
SEED / CHEMICAL:
Before the farmers can get to work, they need seeds and, subsequently, fertilizers (watch our fertilizer forecast here) to reach the full potential of every acre of land. From the genetics to the production to the distribution companies, one could argue that continued innovation of this industry is vital to the future of agriculture.
In 2020, the commercial seed market alone reached an estimated $44.9 billion in annual revenue. With the global pressure on to produce, the world can no longer afford to have underperforming years of production, placing even more pressure on this sub-sector of agriculture to continue to develop treatments on both the organic and GMO sides (watch The Future of Feeding the World Podcast here).
Source: IHS Markit – @2021 IHS Markit
EQUIPMENT
With the growing demand for food-producing land due to the world’s growing population, advances in technology have seamlessly made the farming process more efficient, profitable, and undoubtfully safer. Modern farms and agriculture equipment have significantly evolved by incorporating sophisticated technologies like sensors and GPS to driverless equipment with new autonomous machinery.
These enhancements to heavy equipment are essential to farmers, allowing them to no longer apply certain things uniformly, like fertilizing or watering the field. But instead, farmers can use minimal effort to target specific areas of their fields. Let’s look at some of these added benefits due to technology:
Farmers have higher crop productivity.
There is a reduction in the overuse of water, fertilizer, and pesticides.
The price of food production is at a lower rate due to less manual labor.
Improves the safety of farmworkers and machine operators due by incorporating the use of drones and various software. Check out this podcast with Dr. Steve Irwin on technical platforms here.
Groundwater and rivers are experiencing less runoff of chemicals.
Undoubtedly, innovation of this business sector will continue to evolve and play a major role in the necessary production increases ahead.
GRAIN PRODUCERS
One hundred fifty years ago, work was hard for grain producers, but the job was simple – till the land, plant the seed and let mother nature do her job. As time passed and our global population grew and the demand for our arable land has grown exponentially; all of which, leads to the grain producers of today having the most important job in the world.
The work of the few is to feed the many. Since the post-WWII era, the number of farms has steadily been reducing, placing even greater pressure on those in production areas to continue managing their operations, focusing on profit margins, and working the inherently volatile world of commodity prices.
Imagine a 5,000-acre farm producing trendline yield corn of 180 bushels per acre. Quick raw math based on today’s price per bushel of $6.00 puts gross revenue at 5.4 Million dollars. Noting the rapidly rising costs of inputs (seed and chemical), labor and energy prices, a return to August 2020 prices of $3 would be a massive hit and likely take down such an operation.
All of this is to say that today’s job requires greater collaboration with others in the business than ever before (see section below on intermediaries and risk management).
INTERMEDIARIES/RISK MANAGEMENT
Commodity markets are highly unique in that both end-users and physical producers of a product can proactively buy and sell their input and or production in an open market before being produced via a forward contract or hedge.
To hedge is to manage risk and, in most cases, lock in or protect the profits margins. As discussed above, grain production is a highly volatile business, just like the purchase side (see end-users and commercials below).
Through intermediaries and risk management experts, farmers and end-users gain timely market information, access to markets, and ultimately execute the majority of their forward pricing. Whether through the use of futures, options, swaps, or even physical contracts developing and coordinating a risk management plan is essential to the long-term health of our global commodity infrastructure.
The CME Group is the world-leading commodity exchange, and their global branding says it best – “CME Group, where the world comes to manage risk.”
RCM Ag Services also falls into this category. We provide full-service risk management and advisory solutions to our local area producers and commercial agriculture operations around the globe.
TRANSPORTATION/LOGISTICS
COVID introduced unexpected stresses on global food systems, creating many immediate and rapid challenges to secure food availability. If a worldwide pandemic taught us anything, we know that supply chain management and transportation play a vital role within the agriculture industry. Agriculture logistics ensure that items like food, machinery, and livestock from all over the world are transported with a continuous, optimal flow from the manufacturers and suppliers to the producers and ultimately delivered to consumers.
Some of the most imperative agriculture supply chain and logistics management activities include production, acquisition, storage, handling, transportation, and distribution. Effective logistics is critical for guaranteeing customer satisfaction and meeting demands on time with high-quality products. In addition, logistics should also meet specific standards and operational objectives for efficiency in agriculture policies like:
Protection of the environment
Sustainable distribution practices
Food safety and security
Animal welfare (for transporting livestock)
With the growing population largely expected in developing countries, most of which have poor infrastructure, we can expect the need for massive investments into transportation and logistics operations in the years ahead (this is NOT a stock tip!).
COMMERCIAL AND END USERS
The penultimate step of the process is grain reaching a commercial elevator before going on to the end-user to be converted to a final product. Some producers deliver straight to the end-user in areas where that is an option.
Traditionally, commercial elevators accept farmers’ grain and then ship it to the end-user, either by rail, barge, or other means.
With the continued upward trends of production, it is no surprise, that grain storage capacity has consistently grown. In fact, it is on pace with increases in crop production over the last 20 years and by all accounts is likely to continue to grow.
Source: Farmdocdaily
Along with the enormous capacity, commercials and end users also carry a tremendous amount of of price / volatility risk requiring a proactive and disciplined risk management approach to maximize the margins of their operation and keep the system moving forward.
In 2018, $139.6 billion worth of American agricultural products were exported worldwide, with elevators playing a significant role in that process. The commercials and end-users are essential for getting the product from the farm into your home on the table.
FEEDING THE WORLD IN THE FUTURE
Bringing awareness to how the agriculture industry is vital to feeding the rapidly growing world is pivotal as we continue to face unprecedented challenges in global food security. However, there is a silver lining. We already know what must be done; it is figuring out how to do it that could be problematic. The world must unite and understand that each of these areas highlighted in the infographic is very complex, employs millions of people worldwide, and is vital to the growth of the agriculture industry as well as producing the necessary food for the future.
Download the Infographic
CONTACT AN AG SPECIALIST TODAY
Whether you’re a producer, end-user, commercial operator, RCM AG Services helps protect revenues and control costs through its suite of hedging tools and network of buyers/sellers — Contact us today to speak with an ag specialist at 888-875-2110!
A special guest joins us for this episode of The Hedged Edge, who is well known for his many titles, which include Doctor, Editor-in-Chief, Dean, and Chief Academic Officer, just to name a few. Dr. Channa S. Prakash, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) at Tuskegee University, has served as faculty since 1989 and is a professor of crop genetics, biotechnology, and genomics. He is also well recognized for mentoring underrepresented minority students.
Tune in as biotech guru Dr. Prakash discusses everything from Alabama football, genetics as one of the most extensive agricultural advancements, the most significant risk factors to feeding the world over the next 30-50 years, plus everything in between. And as a bonus, we find out what sport he would be interested in playing if he went professional.
Highlights from this week’s episode include:
The science that has provided our farmers with better varieties of crop lines by using some of the most sophisticated technology on Earth
Why producing crop plants with a much gentler footprint on the natural resources will help feed the growing population
How 75% of the world’s patents in agriculture gene editing are coming out of China
Understanding that trying to impose restrictions on our ability to grow food can be a considerable risk to agriculture and more!
Corn rallied this week with beans with news of trouble in South America continuing and rumors of purchases from China. As we have mentioned before, China buying all ag products is welcome news as they are well behind the Phase 1 targets. The Russia and Ukraine tension, should it boil over, will have major implications for the commodities market as Ukraine’s exports will all but cease. The news of Brazil stopping bean sales is worrisome as there could be more bean and corn yield lost than thought. Energy prices continue their run higher as ethanol demand does not seem to be slowing down. With corn still below recent highs, unlike soybeans, it would appear there is still room for upward movement, but the trade into the weekend, where anything can happen as we know, will be important.
Via Barchart Soybeans rallied this week as soy oil and meal also rallied. The noise around the problems with South America’s crop got a little louder this week with StoneX reporting that Brazil soybeans have gone to “no offer” due to farmers refusing to sell new-crop supplies in the current environment, with drought losses in the south worse than first believed. South American weather remains mixed as southern Brazil and northern Argentina remain hot and dry while southern Argentina received rain over the last couple of weeks. In early February, all areas are expected to revert back to hot and dry in the forecast. These troubles make it sound like the USDA was off on their South America estimates in last week’s report. This is a situation to monitor as any stoppage of sales from Brazil and Argentina would mean purchases from the U.S.
Equities have had a bad week as tech has led the way lower. These rounds of selloffs will offer opportunities to buy back in at some point but as always, timing the market is not an easy job. The market was so hot last year pullbacks are expected, but it is hard to stomach when it falls this much this fast. We are still above the levels we were right after Thanksgiving, but the volatility of the last couple of months looks to still be hanging around.
The 2021 U.S. grain crop has the potential to be one of the largest on record. Where did all the yield come from, what areas were the hardest hit, and why on God’s green earth are grain prices still so high?
Today, we are joined by several RCM Ag Services grain markets experts from around the country to catch up on a post-harvest update and share an outlook for production and marketing in each of their respective regions for the remainder of the 2021 marketing season and the upcoming 22 crops.
Happy New Year! Volatility has been the main storyline in the first week of 2022. There was enough surprise rainfall in the dry areas of South America to spook the markets right before the New Year before a slight bounce. This week’s ethanol production numbers were slightly below last week. Compared to the previous year, monthly ethanol production is running 9% over last year, but ethanol stocks are 8.3% below last year. Ethanol margins are still profitable as gas has rallied since Thanksgiving. The dryness and heat in Southern Brazil and Argentina remain in the forecast while northern Brazil continues to get too much rain. For reference, this time of the year in Argentina is the equivalent to June. If the forecasts prove true in the next couple of weeks, they will continue to stress the crop. Exports this week were nothing to write home about as the USDA described them as the “Marketing year low.” If South America’s crops continue to struggle, we could see an increase in exports, but the opposite could be true if the weather improves.
Soybeans have experienced the same volatility as corn but remain at its highs, as seen in the chart below. The story is the same as corn being driven by weather problems in South America. Barchart estimated Brazilian soybean production at 137 million tonnes, with Argentina production at 45 million tonnes. The last USDA projection had 144 million tonnes in Brazil and 49.5 million tonnes in Argentina, showing that the private sector believes the crop has gotten worse and is trending in the wrong direction. The chart below is interesting because you can see the top at $14 this week and back in July. That will be an important number to close above to keep the momentum going.
The Dow has had quite a volatile week following a week of the Santa Claus rally. The Fed may increase the rate at which they raise rates which worries some investors, but at this point with the Fed, many investors are waiting until they see the plan. As a new year starts, especially following the impressive year that was 2021, many investors try to predict the story for the year ahead. If we have learned to expect anything while Covid is in the markets, we can’t predict much for the year ahead.
The January USDA Report is Tuesday and should be a market mover. All eyes will be on the report as everyone positions themselves ahead. If the volatility of late shows up, it could be a big market mover.
Podcast
The 2021 U.S. grain crop has the potential to be one of the largest on record. Where did all the yield come from, what areas were the hardest hit, and why on God’s green earth are grain prices still so high?
Today, we are joined by several RCM Ag Services grain markets experts from around the country to catch up on a post-harvest update and share an outlook for production and marketing in each of their respective regions for the remainder of the 2021 marketing season and the upcoming 22 crops.
The 2021 U.S. grain crop has the potential to be one of the largest on record. Where did all the yield come from, what areas were the hardest hit, and why on God’s green earth are grain prices still so high?
Today, we are joined by several RCM Ag Services grain markets experts from around the country to catch up on a post-harvest update and share an outlook for production and marketing in each of their respective regions for the remainder of the 2021 marketing season and the upcoming 22 crops.
This week, corn had a good rally following a couple of big down days last week. The December USDA report was released on Thursday with minimal changes and differences between the numbers and pre-report estimates. World stocks were slightly higher than pre-report estimates at 305.45 million metric tons (304.47 MMT estimate) and marginally higher US stocks. The USDA did not make any adjustments to the South American crop estimates as they remain patient; we should expect next month to see a change. Continue to keep an eye on SA weather as any continued problems could play out in the market heading into the holidays.
Soybeans, like corn, saw a modest bounce following a couple of bad days last week. The expectation of a bearish report proved incorrect as the USDA left the stock numbers unchanged. The exports seem to have been slowing down and remain well short of the Phase 1 deal with China, so we could expect to see the export numbers lowered and ending stocks raised if there is no strong buying into the end of the year. All in all, the report lacked any market-moving fireworks.
The Dow had a strong week bouncing back from its dip as there were plenty of buyers buying the dip. As fear of the Omicron variant relaxes and positive news on the vaccine fighting this strain, this cycle of the variant worry may have already hit and bounced back in the market. Many analystsare calling for a rally into the end of the year with many firms releasing their top picks for 2022. The CPI numbers will be released at the end of the week and will play out in the market on Friday.
Wheat
Wheat prices have been falling the last week and continued falling after the report. Australia and Canada had larger production than expected. Another important development specific to wheat will be the tensions between Ukraine and Russia, as any escalation would cause problems for wheat exports from Ukraine.
Podcast
For the past year, commodity prices have perpetually soared and continue to trend higher. We’re diving into the fertilizer forecast with a unique guest, Billy Dale Strader, a branch manager for Helena Agri-Enterprises in Russellville, KY., who is truly at the epicenter of the rising fertilizer prices.
Billy Dale planted his agriculture roots on his family-owned farm and has managed regional seed and chemical sales at Helena for the past decade. In this week’s pod, we tackle the big question for farmers and ultimately end-users — is the impact of higher-priced inputs, like seeds, chemicals, and fertilizer, on the supply and demand for the major U.S. crops? Listen or watch to find out!
Volatility was the name of the game this week as every market experienced it from, grains to equities. Corn partook in the excitement, as you can see from the chart below. Important to note is following the small rally in the past couple of days to get back to the levels we saw before Thanksgiving. Wheat was a big winner Thursday and pulled corn with it on the intensifying issues with Russia and Ukraine. If wheat rallies, expect it to pull corn with it even on limited corn news. The La Nina pattern continues to form in South America as southern Brazil remains dry, and forecasts have that continuing. Another non-corn-specific factor to keep an eye on will be energy prices, as ethanol production will depend on how the omicron variant will/could affect US travel into the winter and holiday season.
Soybeans, like corn, saw a bounce the last couple of days to get back to close to the range we were in pre-Thanksgiving. The bounce has brought us back in the range we were trading for most of October, which seems like a good place for the market to hang around when there is a lack of news. Exports continued but were on the lower end of expectations this week, while soybean meal and oil were as expected. If beans could close this week over the 20-day moving average, that would be supportive for bulls who are looking for good news. As harvest is wrapped up, all eyes turn to South American weather and their crops this year.
Crude oil has sank following the Thanksgiving holiday as concern over the new Omicron variant, and its impact on demand hit the market. While these concerns are valid as much is still unknown, the largest problem that seems immediate to demand will be air travel and international travel causing, less jet fuel demand. As of right now, it does not appear to be worrying many Americans, but as more cases are found, we will see how it will affect demand. OPEC+ countries also announced they might cut output if demand falls due to the virus, leading prices back higher.
Natural Gas prices have also faltered this week as a warmer U.S. winter is expected to occur, requiring less NG for heating. Diesel prices have also fallen a lot this week following the Omicron variant news and presents farmers with an opportunity to hedge their fuel needs for next year.
The Dow experienced a lot of volatility this week as news of the Omicron variant in the U.S. and more places worldwide spooked some investors. The reports are that it only has caused mild symptoms, which is good, but the reaction was not of fear of the virus itself but how the governments will respond with potential lockdowns and travel bans soon. On Thursday, the strong bounce-back shows that investors are still eager to get in the market, so any large pullbacks will be met with buying if it is seen as a jerk reaction, but any longer lasting weakness could be seen as a correction. The down-trend of the last week has made some investors worried and moved some to the sidelines while we see what happens. Powell will stay as head of the Fed and said they might start tapering and raising interest rates sooner rather than later as inflation does not appear to be transitory.
For the past year, commodity prices have perpetually soared and continue to trend higher. We’re diving into the fertilizer forecast with a unique guest, Billy Dale Strader, a branch manager for Helena Agri-Enterprises in Russellville, KY., who is truly at the epicenter of the rising fertilizer prices.
Billy Dale planted his agriculture roots on his family-owned farm and has managed regional seed and chemical sales at Helena for the past decade. In this week’s pod, we tackle the big question for farmers and ultimately end-users — is the impact of higher-priced inputs, like seeds, chemicals, and fertilizer, on the supply and demand for the major U.S. crops? Listen or watch to find out!
RCM Ag Services is a registered DBA of Reliance Capital Markets II LLC. Trading futures, options on futures, and retail off-exchange foreign currency transactions are complex and involve substantial risk of loss and are not suitable for all investors. Loss-limiting strategies such as stop loss orders may not be effective because market conditions or technological issues may make it impossible to execute such orders. Likewise, strategies using combinations of options and/or futures positions such as “spread” or “straddle” trades may be just as risky as simple long and short positions. There are no guarantees of profit. You should carefully consider whether trading is suitable for you in light of your circumstances, knowledge and financial resources. You may lose all or more than your initial investment. You should not rely on any of the information herein as a substitute for the exercise of your own skill and judgment in making such a decision on the appropriateness of such investments. Opinions, market data and recommendations are subject to change without notice. Reliance Capital Markets II LLC shall not be held responsible for any actions taken based on this website or attached links. Parties acting on this electronic communication are responsible for their own actions. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results.
