Category: Weather

11 Feb 2022

AG MARKETING UPDATE: FEBRUARY 3 – 10

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

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.

Via Barchart

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!

 

Via Barchart.com

 

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 Ag Specialist Brady Lawrence today at 312-858-4049 or [email protected].

28 Jan 2022

AG MARKET UPDATE: JANUARY 20 – 27

Corn continued its rally this week as grain bulls and inflation continue to drive it higher. The yield losses in South America continue to have news around it as the reality of significant losses begins to set in. Too much rain and heat or not enough rain and heat have been driving the issues, with very few areas having excellent growing conditions. With the Chinese New Year coming up, China will disappear from the export reports for a little bit, but once they come back, the market will have a better idea of where Brazil and Argentina sit. If the rumored losses come to fruition, we could see China increase its purchases. Corn has continued its rise while wheat struggles to make up its mind with confusion around the Russia and Ukraine situation. Any escalation there will result in more bullish factors in the market. Despite some volatility, energy prices continued their rise, with crude oil hitting a new high this week. Ethanol plants will continue to produce even with higher corn prices as long as their margins remain strong despite resulting in less fuel consumption. Many energy companies think we could see $100+ Crude in the next few months.

Via Barchart

Soybeans continued to move this week on similar news as corn with South America’s issues and continued world veg oil strength. With strong veg oil prices pulling beans along with it as long as that lasts, we can expect some support under beans with any lower moves. Like corn, if private estimates of losses to the South American crop become a reality, we should continue this run higher. If China comes back from Chinese New Year and starts picking up bean purchases, mixed with world veg oil prices could see this rally continue. Acreage estimates for 2022 have been coming out, with Informa pegging the US bean crop at 87.8 million acres. This is slightly higher than the 87.2 million acres from 2021, but we have a long way to go before we get to that point.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

Equities had quite the week with large intraday trading ranges as the market does not seem to make up its mind. This week, the Fed’s decision to leave interest rates as-is means we should expect a raise from the March meeting. The Fed also said they would adjust asset purchases moving forward. The tensions between Ukraine, Russia, and NATO remain a large question mark, but it appears Putin may not do anything until after the Olympics. This will be important to keep an eye on for equities and commodity prices.

Via Barchart

Cotton

The cotton market has held in this $1.20 range for the last ten trading days. World demand is there, and this bull market could have room to run if inflation sticks around with other supply chain bottlenecks. We could continue to see this strength last into the spring when planting starts until we get a better idea of what the U.S. cotton crop will look like this year. With rising consumer demand, the cost of production and transportation in the next few months could see volatility.

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!

 

 

Via Barchart.com

 

 

21 Jan 2022

AG MARKET UPDATE: JANUARY 13 – 20

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.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

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.

Via Barchart

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.

 

Via Barchart.com

14 Jan 2022

AG MARKET UPDATE: JANUARY 6 – 13

The USDA report was met with a mixed reaction on Wednesday as markets traded both higher and lower immediately following the report. Thursday brought on large selling though, as rain in the dryer parts of South America took the headlines after the USDA Report ultimately did not provide any major changes. The USDA did not change the U.S. yield for corn as it stayed at 177 BPA while raising total crop size to 15.115 billion bushels and 1.540 billion bushels for ending stocks. World stocks were lowered along with smaller yield numbers expected in South America. The rain will do little to alleviate the stress on the crop as more will be needed before we feel better about less yield loss. Several private estimates   believe the Brazil and Argentinian losses are larger than the USDA updated. However, there is still plenty of time before the crop comes out of the ground to rebound.

Via Barchart

Soybeans fell on the week for the same reasons as corn. The USDA Report was slightly more bearish for beans as they raised the U.S. yield 0.2 BPA to 51.4. They slightly increased total production and raised U.S. ending stocks by 10 million bushels to 350 million. A good amount was cut from World-ending stocks due to the issues in South America, but the market had already priced that in, if not more so than was reported. Exports were within expectations, so no surprises there. One wild card still out there is that China is $16 billion behind their Phase 1 trade agreement commitments. Obviously, not all of this is soybeans, but they are far off their soybean numbers. It is unlikely the Biden administration will press them to get to their commitments, but if South America’s troubles are worse than expected, they have to go buy them from somewhere.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow fell slightly on the week but bounced back off its lows from Monday. The markets are looking for direction following 4 days of loses straight. With repositioning for the year ahead and profit taking after a historic year the volatility could be around for a while.

Wheat

Wheat has taken it on the chin the last couple of weeks as you can see in the chart below. Wheat sold off following the other markets after the report. The drought in the winter wheat belt is concerning and if it does not improve, we should see prices move higher in the next month or two. The drought is not a big problem right now, but if it continues into February, it would be concerning. This week saw the lowest close in KC Wheat since October.

Via Barchart

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.

 

 

Via Barchart.com

07 Jan 2022

AG MARKET UPDATE: DECEMBER 29 – JANUARY 6

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

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.

Via Barchart

January USDA Report

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.

 

Via Barchart.com

30 Dec 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: DECEMBER 22 – 29

Corn continued its rally until it faced some selling on Tuesday. The dip on Tuesday should be expected when a market starts running this hot and people like to take their profits. The South American weather has not changed and remains hot and dry in southern Brazil and Argentina. Northern Brazil may have the opposite problem as they are expected to see heavy rains that could lead to flooding delaying the start of harvest in the region. The weekly ethanol grind was good again this week as we are 17 mbu above the weekly pace needed to meet the USDA’s corn used for ethanol projection. As Americans continue to travel despite the new wave of Omicron, we can expect an increase in corn use in the January USDA update. The air has not been let out of the market, despite what “the sky is falling” people said after Tuesday’s dip, as there is still a lot that can happen in the coming weeks and months.

Via Barchart

Soybeans saw a big boost the first trading day after Christmas as the weekend weather did nothing the alleviate the concerns for South America’s production. Beans saw the same profit-taking on Tuesday but are still seeing its best levels since August. The same factors affecting corn in South America have the same effect on soybeans. With inflation looking to continue into 2022, we could see higher values in many commodities along with grains. Rising world vegetable oil prices have helped beans during their run along with wide crush margins. As we said last week, corn and beans seem to be on the same boat for now unless something significant happens. Any unexpected rain to help the crop would probably result in a panic selloff as usual.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had a good week as we have seen a good rally around Christmas and into the New Year’s holiday. The Omicron variant continues to rip through the U.S. and the world as events are canceled, and restrictions are placed back. With the rate of this new wave spreading, it will be interesting to see how long the rules stay if the virus runs its course faster than usual. The CDC changing the quarantine requirement from 10 to 5 days is also welcome news to the market as it appears we may be getting closer to fewer restrictions across the board and workers getting back quicker. At the close on Wednesday, the Dow is up over 19% for the year (wow!).

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.

 

 

Via Barchart.com

23 Dec 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: DECEMBER 9 – 22

Since early December, corn has had a great run as South America’s dryness continues and delays planting in some areas. The corn crop is only about 60% planted in Argentina, which is the slowest pace on record for late December. Anything planted after January 10th will probably experience some yield drag. Their planting rate is on par with last year, but the weather has been far dryer and looks to continue going forward. As you can see in the chart below, March corn has rallied 90+ cents since early September. With continued strong basis and raises at prices, farmers have been given a gift but when the farmers choose to claim the gift and how long the gift stays available is another question. If Argentina and Brazil stay dry, this rally could continue, and we could retest the summer’s highs. Ethanol margins shrunk, and crude fell but remain at much higher than average levels, which will also support corn.

Via Barchart

Soybeans, like corn, have enjoyed a nice rally as South American weather issues cause some worry.  This week, Brazil’s bean crop had its production estimate lowered by 3 million metric tons by Parana’s crop analysis firm, Deral. While Brazil is still on pace to produce a record crop, it is not expected to be as large. They increased planting this year, so a larger crop is expected in Brazil, even with some headwinds.  The basis is holding steady around the country for beans as we head into the new year. Beans and corn are likely to move together leading up to the January USDA report.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had a flat week and a half with volatility due to the Omicron variant having it all over the place with several large down days followed by a good bounce. The Omicron variant’s spread has been worrisome as restrictions start to come back into play in major cities. It will be important to keep an eye on this around the holidays as we also hope to see the “Santa Clause rally.” Senator Manchin also stopped President Biden’s BBB plan as he will not vote to approve it in its current form.

Podcast

Commodity prices have perpetually soared for the past year 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!

 

 

Via Barchart.com

22 Oct 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 12 – 21

Corn has seen a good rally since the lows that came after the report. Due to the world energy values falling, corn is still well above where it was last week, despite the pullback on Thursday. Rain in the eastern corn belt that was expected to slow harvest coming up has turned a little drier but still present. The rains this week will further deteriorate the already poor-quality plants. The yields were coming in better than expected in some areas the first half of harvest, but we should expect them to be lower in the second half.. NOAA on Thursday released its outlook for a warmer winter in the U.S., which hit energy prices and could see them trend lower, which would not help corn, among other things. It is vital this time of year to start paying attention to South American weather, and right now, Argentina is off to a dry start.  Ethanol production continues to grow as margins remain above $1 per bushel, pushing plants to produce at top capacity. This week’s output was the 3rd largest ever and will be an important supporting factor for corn going forward.

Via Barchart

Soybeans have had a good rally since the report, like corn even with the pullback at the end of this week. World bean oil and veg oil markets saw a rally this week that helped pull soybeans up along with many of the same factors as corn. Weekly exports this week were 2x that of last week and the highest in 13 months, with China being the main buyer. According to the most recent USDA report, if we can get consistent demand from China moving forward, that should help soybeans despite the crop being bigger than initially thought. The chart is tough to look at, but the market did close above the 20 day moving average at one point this week. It will not get back to that level to end the week, but the double high of $12.49 ½ this week makes it look like that $12.50 range may be hard to break through unless we get more bullish news. All eyes will move to the 2022 contracts next week as we begin to look at options for stored beans.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had another good week as we have seen a good October for the equities market. After a tough September, this is good to see money back in the markets as questions around tapering, inflation and other Fed issues remain. Supply chain woes continue to plague many industries and will probably only worsen with the coming holiday season.

Podcast

In this week’s podcast Simon Quilty, from Melbourne, Australia, and Jeff Malec join Jeff Eizenberg to discuss global meat markets. We get an overview of the global meat market: beef, poultry, and pork, the main players and their main concerns, including labor and shipping shortages being a critical problem. Simon talks about how he goes about hedging the various contracts providing risk management for the current disruption for in-demand meat products.

For additional information, read our blog “Weigh More Than You Wanted To Know About Meat” here: https://www.rcmalternatives.com/2021/10/weigh-more-than-you-wanted-to-know-about-meat-with-agritrends-simon-quilty/

U.S. Drought Monitor

The maps below show the U.S. drought monitor and the comparison to it from a week ago. The outlined areas in black are areas that the drought will have a dominant impact.

Via Barchart.com

28 Sep 2021

2021 Harvest Report — Your First-Hand Look Into Tennessee’s and Mississippi’s Crop Season

As corn, soybeans, and many other crops begin to enter their harvest season, it is time to think about how the harvest is progressing on the farm. According to agriculture.com, soybean harvest progress is at 16%, and the site reported corn to be at 18%. On top of the progress, it showed that most western and northern states were at a pace above average, and southeastern states were progressing below average.

Last week, RCM Ag Services was fortunate to have a first-hand look at a couple of states within this region. Bert Farrish, Director of Commercial Agriculture, ventured out on an 800-mile crop tour throughout Tennessee and the northern Mississippi Delta from September 21-26. Let’s take a look at his 5-day journey across the south and dive into the industry as Farrish provides his very own commentary for a 2021 crop progress assessment.

Is Weather Hindering Western Tennessee?

The tour began in Western Tennessee, where turbulent weather was predicted in the forecast, and it wasn’t long before Bert was met with strong thunderstorms between Nashville and Lexington. As he encountered severe weather along the I-40 corridor, he naturally observed little to no harvest work. “The crops looked relatively good; however, Western Tennessee has a long way to go with this year’s harvest,” Farrish stated.

“There is still a lot of corn and soybean in the field, and I predict that harvest, for both corn and beans, will move well into October.” But it wasn’t just corn and beans that needed additional time this year. “Cotton wasn’t near ready for harvest; I am estimating that the harvest won’t begin until mid-October.”

Driving Into The Delta

As Farrish continued his driving tour into the Mississippi Delta, progress wasn’t much further along, and he stated that this area had also received recent rain showers. “I would say corn was 90% complete in the areas I drove through,” which contained routes along I-69, Hwy 61, Hwy 8, and Hwy 6.

“With some exceptions, most crops looked great!” However, Farrish had stated some crops like rice still had a ways to go. “I would say the crop is later than usual, but they will wrap up the bean harvest in the next few weeks with good weather.”

But as we all know, weather this time of year is unpredictable, especially with rain in the forecast this week at a 60% coverage. Over the weekend, there was a steady line of trucks through Cleveland headed to the port of Rosedale, MS. Combines were running everywhere Saturday, September 25, and Sunday, September 26.

The Bolls Are Open — A Preview of the Cotton Counties

With the driving tour coming to an end, the last assessment concludes with cotton. Harvest for cotton still has a long way to go. Farrish predicts that 30-50% of bolls are open. “There were minimal small fields that were ready to pick, but certainly no one is going to open a gin for a few bales.”

But that doesn’t mean all areas in the Delta need work. The cotton in Coahoma and Quitman counties looks as good as ever. Farrish stated, “Some fieldwork has been done in the north Delta, but I am certain harvest for all crops is further along in the south Delta, meaning Hwy 82 and south to near Vicksburg. But I was unable to see this area in this trip.”

Final Trip Takeaways

Overall, Bert concluded his trip feeling optimistic about the crop prospects. Although some areas need improvement, most crops look strong and are on track to have a strong harvest season.

Visit our blog, Here’s What you Need to Know About the Outlook for the First Week of October, for an additional harvest update on the many unknown/under-reported issues early in the year that we may be seeing played out combined with the dry and hot finish.

27 Aug 2021

AG MARKET UPDATE: AUGUST 19-26

Corn was unchanged on the week as slow news, a lack of major export announcements, and no major rain events crossed the area’s most in need. Additionally, most of the corn belt has seen above average temperatures this week keeping a bid under the market. The late season heat and hot nights are taking their toll on the crop but hopefully the heat will end soon according to some forecasts. This time of year, markets begin to look at multiple yield reports coming in from various independent groups – i.e the Pro Farmer Tour (results HERE). At first glance many in the industry feel the tour results are a bit high, but only time will tell.  Any big surprise exports or continued weather problems will be the bulls news while rain and yield reports will be the bears.

Via Barchart

Soybeans made small gains on the week as the same news moved beans that moved corn. China continues to be a buyer going on 2 weeks now which is supportive after their long silence. The market is reacting to these purchases as if they were expected and normal purchases. Regular and consistent purchases will need to continue for the market to remain supportive.  Any abrupt could see another slide heading into harvest before we have a better idea on yield. The rains that some think will help corn will also help beans as we head into September.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow gained on the week as what seemed to be investor weariness last week turned into buying opportunities. The events in Afghanistan weighed on the market Thursday with uncertainty about the US foreign relations going forward.  As of this morning, Friday 8/27/2021, the S&P and Nasdaq are making fresh all-time highs following the latest comments from the Federal Reserve where NO NEW policy changes were announced and supportive monetary measures will remain in place.

Afghanistan

The suicide bombing by an ISIS-K member Thursday in Kabul, that claimed the lives of dozens of Afghan citizens, along with a dozen US Service members, while injuring countless others, shook the world. The swiftness of the fall of Afghanistan’s army and government to the Taliban has put the US at the center of one of the biggest international situations in recent memory. Going forward the countries around Afghanistan will be important to keep an eye on for exporters to the middle east.

Podcast

Check out our recent podcast where we’ve brought on one of our real-life firefighters from RCM Ag – Jody Lawrence along with Tim Andriesen from the CME Group to provide us with some inside baseball knowledge of the current state of the agriculture markets and to discuss the real-world application of the use of short-dated options to potentially fight the current blaze of volatility surrounding agriculture markets.

https://rcmagservices.com/the-hedged-edge/

US Drought Monitor

The maps below show there was not much change over the week despite weekend rains in some areas that needed it and some drying in Indiana.

Via Barchart.com