December corn closed at $5.79, up 1 and 3/4 cents
November soybeans closed at $12.25, up 1 and 1/4 cents
December soybean meal closed at $336.30, up 40 cents
December soybean oil closed at 49.70, up 10 points
December wheat closed at $7.18 and 1/4, up 15 and 1/2 cents
October live cattle closed at $100.70, up 20 cents
December lean hogs closed at $67.05, down 80 cents
December crude oil closed at $82.18, up 24 cents
December cotton closed at 121.68, down 191 points
December Class III milk closed at $15.70, down 17 cents
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 11,113.95, down 12.33 points
Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: October 28, 2010
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Dow Chemical Co. reports Q3 earnings
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Dow Chemical Company, parent company of Indianapolis based Dow AgroSciences, is reporting a third quarter (Q3) loss of $12 million, compared with earnings of $5 million a year ago, for the Health and Agricultural Sciences segment. Sales totaled $948 million, up 19 percent compared to a year ago. Volume increased 26 percent, which more than offset a price decline of 7 percent. Both corn and cotton business gained market share.
HBC Jr. Show deadline Nov. 1
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Monday, November 1, is the deadline to register for the Junior Show at the 2010 Hoosier Beef Congress (HBC), coming up December 3 – 5 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.
In its 24th year, the HBC is considered on the Midwest’s premier cattle shows, with more than 1,500 head of top quality show heifers and steers expected for this year’s show and sale.
IL Farm Bill listening sessions continue
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
To get ideas on what the 2012 Farm Bill should like, the Illinois Corn Growers Association is hosting district listening sessions. There’s a listening session tonight, Thursday, October 28, at Farm Credit Services in Mahomet beginning at 6 p.m. another Friday morning, October 29, 7:30 a.m. at the Sangamon County Farm Bureau in Springfield.
Upcoming listening sessions include:
• November 1 – National Corn to Ethanol Research Center, Edwardsville, IL 6:00-8:00 p.m..
• November 4 – Effingham County Extension Office, Effingham, IL 6:00-8:00 p.m.
• November 5 – Holiday Inn, Mt. Vernon, IL 7:30-9:30 a.m.
• Week of November 8 sessions may be held in Rochelle, Princeton, Morris, and Galesburg, but those locations are not final yet.
For information or to RSVP contact Lindsay Mitchell at 309-827-0912.
Front-of-package nutrition labels are coming
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Grocery Manufacturers Association says it will have a system for front-of-the-package nutrition labeling on food by early next year. Working with the Food Marketing Institute, GMA says labels will include information on nutrients most closely associated with health problems such as calories, fats and sodium. Exact details are still being worked out however a GMA spokesperson says the information will be presented in a fact-based, simple and easy-to-use format and will not “characterize a food’s overall nutritional value as good or bad.”
The industry had attempted a front-of-the-package nutrition label which utilized a seal-of-approval, the Food and Drug Administration halted that campaign on complaints that seal was being put on foods that should not have it. FDA is in the process of developing guidelines for front labels as a result.
Read more about the GMA plan here:
CWT will drop the herd retirement program
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) is changing its focus. The CWT management committee has determined the program should move away from utilizing the herd retirement program and focus on building the export market for dairy.
National Milk Producers Federation President and CEO Jerry Kozak says the herd retirement program “has reached a point of diminishing returns, where there were a declining number of member farms that were expecting to use CWT as a means to liquidate their herds.” Meanwhile, Kozak adds, the export assistance program is gaining popularity.
The National Milk Producers Federation board of directors has voted to reduce funding for the program as a result. Currently CWT is funded by a 10-cent-per-hundredweight checkoff, effective January 1, 2011 and through 2012 that membership assessment will be 2-cents per hundredweight. The membership also determined that 75 percent of the nation’s milk production must be participating for the program to continue. Enrollment for cooperatives and individuals will be on a two-year basis.
Crop adviser conference
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The Indiana Certified Crop Adviser Conference, scheduled for December 14 and 15 at the Indianapolis Marriott East will focus on four main management areas, plant nutrients, crops, pests and soil and water. New this year will be a presentation on specialty crops including pumpkins and turf.
Thursday midday cash livestock prices
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Cattle country was quiet in the Thursday morning trade, following moderate trading in the South yesterday. Best guesses are that around 14,000 head traded in Kansas and close to 11,000 sold in Texas at mostly 100.00. Sources are saying it looks like that may be all the business we will see in those areas this week. Only around 5,000 head traded in Nebraska, but more trade is expected there today and or tomorrow. Asking prices are around 101.00 to 102.00 in the South, and 158.00 plus in the North.
Boxed beef cutout values are mixed, the choice is up .95 at 162.32, and select is down .04 at 154.51.
Cattle receipts at the Huss Platte Valley Auction in Nebraska totaled 2780 head on Wednesday. Compared to last week’s limited test, steers and heifers weighing less than 700 lbs trended fully steady at the auction. Steers and heifers over 700 lbs were steady to 3.00 lower. Demand and trade activity was moderate to very good. Feeder steers medium and large 1; 281 head averaging 523 lbs traded at an average of 124.12. 246 heifers weighing 525 pounds brought 109.71 per hundredweight.
Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade are 2.84 lower; in the West they are down 2.82 with both regions at 58.61 on a carcass basis, Eastern hogs are 3.11 lower at 59.30. Missouri direct base carcass meat price is steady to 1.00 lower at 59.00.
The dressed hog trade fell hard on Wednesday, generating significant country movement at the same time. Such a continuation is never a good sign of short term price stability. Additionally, Saturday kill plans may not be larger than 190,000 head, considerably below last week and the level needed to clean up country supplies.
A strong week for soybean export sales, shipments
October 28, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It was generally a pretty good week for U.S. export sales. USDA reports corn exports for the week ending October 21 were larger than expected while soybeans, soybean meal, soybean oil and wheat were within pre-report estimates. Physical shipments of soybeans were more than what’s needed weekly to meet USDA projections for the 2010/11 marketing year but corn and wheat fell short of their respective marks.
Wheat came out at 604,400 tons (22.2 million bushels), up 5% from the week ending October 14 and 1% higher than the four week average. The leading buyer was Egypt at 240,200 tons; unknown destinations canceled on 98,800 tons. For the 2010/11 marketing year, wheat sales are 714.7 million bushels, compared to 476.8 million in 2009/10.
Corn was reported at 550,800 tons (21.7 million bushels), a significant improvement from the week before, but still 17% below the four week average. Japan picked up 190,200 tons. At this point in the marketing year, corn sales are 777.0 million bushels, compared to 680.5 million this time last year.
Soybeans were pegged at 2,025,800 tons (74.4 million bushels), basically unchanged from the previous week and an increase of 40% from the four week average. The biggest purchaser was China at 1,369,600 tons. So far this marketing year, soybean sales are 1.005 billion bushels, compared to 843.3 million a year ago.
Soybean meal was reported at 153,900 tons, down 37% from the prior week. Honduras was the leading buyer at 34,600 tons. Still fairly early in the marketing year, soybean meal sales are 2,902,600 tons, compared to 3,772,900 towards the start of last year.
Soybean oil came out at 5,500 tons, with the big move of the week 40,000 tons being switched from unknown destinations to China. Also early in the current marketing year, soybean oil sales are 679,700 tons, compared to 640,600 a year ago.
Net beef sales totaled 19,500 tons. The reported buyers were Mexico (8,300 tons), Taiwan (2,300 tons), Canada (1,800 tons), South Korea (1,600 tons) and Japan (1,200 tons). Sales of 400 tons for 2011 delivery were to Taiwan (300 tons) and Japan (100 tons).
Pork processor to locate in Le Mars, Iowa
October 28, 2010 By 1 Comment
A pork processor has selected Le Mars, Iowa for its location. A spokesperson for North American Co-Pack Iowa confirmed the decision with the Le Mars Daily Sentinel this week.
North American Co-Pack Iowa will focus on sliced meats and other ready-to-eat food processing, according to information filed with the Iowa Department of Economic Development. The company will operate out of an existing facility in Le Mars and will eventually employ as many as 100 people.
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