Grains Archives - Page 9 of 10

04 Feb 2022

Agriculture, Corn, Crude Oil, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Other News, Podcast, Research, Risk Management, Soybeans, USDA Report, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

AG MARKETING UPDATE: JANUARY 27 – FEBRUARY 3

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

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.

Via Barchart

Crude Oil

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)

Via Barchart

Feb USDA Report

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!

Via Barchart.com

14 Jan 2022

Corn, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Other News, Podcast, Soybeans, USDA Report, Weather, Weekly Prices, Wheat rcmagserv 0 comment

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

Agriculture, Corn, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Research, Risk Management, Soybeans, USDA Report, Weather, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

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

Via Barchart.com

30 Dec 2021

Corn, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Research, Risk Management, Soybeans, Weather, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

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

Via Barchart.com

27 Dec 2021

Agriculture, Corn, Market Commentary, Podcast, Research, Soybeans, Wheat rcmagserv 0 comment

What’s Driving the Grain Markets Heading into 2022?

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Listen or watch:

Apple

Spotify

23 Dec 2021

Corn, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Research, Soybeans, Weather, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

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 10^th 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

03 Dec 2021

Agriculture, Corn, Crude Oil, Dow Jones, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Risk Management, Soybeans, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

AG MARKET UPDATE: NOVEMBER 18 – DECEMBER 2

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

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.

Via Barchart

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.

Via Barchart.com

11 Nov 2021

Agriculture, Corn, Dow Jones, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Research, Risk Management, Soybeans, USDA Report, Weekly Prices, Wheat rcmagserv 0 comment

AG MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 28 – NOVEMBER 9 USDA REPORT

Corn was struggling this week heading into the Nov 9^th USDA report, where it saw a good bounce after its release before falling back to only finish up slightly higher on the day. The corn numbers that came out of the report were fairly neutral, with a 177 bu/acre yield and 15.062-billion-bushel U.S. production. The yield was slightly raised from 176.5 the month before but was right in line with estimates, so there was no significant reaction on that number. Overall, there were not many surprises for corn as most bullish reactions came from soybeans pulling them higher with them. With ethanol margins very profitable and crude oil staying higher, the demand side will continue to keep basis levels high. As harvest was 84% complete at the start of the week, there is still time for any weather issues to create issues to finish up harvest, but this is always expected, so being this far along is helpful.

Via Barchart

Soybeans had an excellent bounce post USDA report but finished well off the highs of the day. The yield came in at 51.2 bu/acre, down 0.3 from last month, along with lower world-ending stocks. As far as U.S. ending stocks. the USDA pegged it at a manageable 340 million bushels, slightly up from last month —these numbers are not outright bullish. South America’s weather is non-threatening right now; however, with solid world crush margins, there is not much reason for a bearish outlook heading into the winter. With funds currently flat, we may hang around this area trading until new news enters the market.

Via Barchart

There were no surprises in the wheat report,, but it did follow beans higher after a down week leading into the report. US wheat stocks came in at 583 million bushels (pre-report estimates were 581 million) and world-ending stocks of 275.80 million metric tons (pre-report estimates 276.5 MMT). Despite the recent pullback, there is still a bullish sentiment in the market moving forward for the time being.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow has continued to trend higher this week as it has put together an impressive month despite Tuesday’s pullback. Many markets have led it higher from tech to industrials, with the new infrastructure bill playing a role.

Side note: The crypto markets have also been on a tear the past couple of weeks. It will be interesting to watch heading into the end of the year after an impressive last year and a half.

Podcast

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

29 Oct 2021

Agriculture, Corn, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Other News, Risk Management, Soybeans, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

AG MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 21 – 28

Corn has continued its rally as the bulls seem to have their mojo back following a time where they could have been uneasy. Despite the disappointing export report, corn was able to keep the momentum going Thursday. This week’s weather week will slow down harvest and could cause issues for what is remaining in the field. Higher basis has been seen across most of the country as a lack of available corn continues to put pressure on elevators while ethanol plants are running on great margins and can afford the basis. Going forward it will be interesting to watch how farmers manage the corn they store. Do they hold it until we see much higher prices? Will basis become so favorable it is hard to hold on to it while farmers are making payments for products for next year? These questions do not have any answers right now, and only time will tell, but one thing is for sure, input prices are going up and farmers know how valuable their crop is.

Via Barchart

Soybeans have had a good bounce from their low a couple of weeks ago, even if it is not as an inspiring rally as corn. Like corn, the weather will delay harvest and reduce yields in many areas that were off to a great first half. South American weather is generally good for the next week with Argentina receiving their best rains of the season so far. The weather over the coming weeks/next couple of months will be important to getting them off to a good start. Like corn, it will be interesting to see the number of beans stored vs. sold after harvest. As beans continue to struggle to find a pattern, we hope to see one develop in the coming weeks, hopefully, a good one.

Via Barchart

Dow Jones

The Dow had another good week with one big down day followed by a bounce-back on Thursday. As Q3 earnings continue to roll in, it has been a mixed bag with large companies like Amazon and Apple falling post reporting.

Oats

The Oats market has been on a tear the last two months as Canada’s and the upper plains crop had a multitude of issues due to drought conditions. This has created a supply problem on top of already higher grain prices across the board this year.

Podcast

The Hedged Edge is back, and we’re jumping into the thick of the commodity markets with RCM’s own King of Cotton – Ron Lawson. Cotton prices have exploded since the COVID crash, rising more than 236% from the March 2020 lows. While prices have backed off from the October 8th high, cotton is one of the purest supply + demand-driven markets around the world and has caught fire along with the global inflation bug currently running rampant across many commodity markets.

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

22 Oct 2021

Agriculture, Corn, Grain, Market Commentary, Market Updates, Podcast, Risk Management, Soybeans, Weather, Weekly Prices rcmagserv 0 comment

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 3^rd 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.