The ethanol industry has found itself on the defensive these days as some charge it is part of the reason for increasing food costs. Wisconsin Corn Growers Association president, Brian Long says it is not the cause and can be part of the solution.
Corn ethanol is not forcing food prices up
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Next up, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days
March 29, 2011 By 1 Comment
As the curtain comes down on the WPS Farm Show on Thursday afternoon, we look forward to the next major farm show in the state, Wisconsin Farm Technology Days. This year the July expo will be at Seehafer Acres just north of Marshfield in Marathon County. WFTD General Manager Ron Schuler says things are shaping up quite nicely for the show. Meanwhile, Outagamie County is making plans for next year, Kevin Jarek is Executive Secretary for that county committee.
State FFA Officers are at the show
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When you walk into Hanger C at the WPS Farm Show you will notice the blue-and-gold jackets, the Wisconsin FFA Officer Team is here. State President Alicia Hodnik says they are talking to people about the importance of agriculture education and FFA in the state’s schools.
Grassley favors linking free trade agreements
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Senator Charles Grassley says pending free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia should be considered together.
Reacting to Obama Administration statements that the Korea agreement should remain separate, the Iowa GOP lawmaker acknowledges the importance of the South Korea accord and says he would not oppose considering it on its own, however he says failing to link the three agreements is a missed opportunity.
“The pressure is to get them all three through because they have to be through in 90 days,” Grassley told reporters Tuesday. “It’s not something that is going to hold up South Korea; either South Korea and all three of them pass, or none of them pass.”
In an interview with Brownfield Monday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the South Korea Free Trade Agreement should be passed, but without connecting it to the other two pending agreements. It’s the administration view that linking the three agreements will delay finalization of the South Korea trade agreement.
ADM doubling canola storage at Alberta
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Archer Daniels Midland has announced plans to expand in Alberta Canada so it can receive and store double the current amount of canola seeds, according to Food Navigator Dot Com. ADM says growers in the Lloydminster, Alberta area, where their canola processing facility is located, continue to produce higher canola yields and ADM is committed to meeting their growing needs. Pending permits, ADM says it will build new storage bins and another receiving system.
Domestically, ADM also says it plans to greatly increase grain storage capacity at three of its facilities in Missouri and Illinois.
Weather worries support soybeans, wheat
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Soybeans were higher on speculative and technical buying. Traders continue to watch harvest delays in Brazil with forecasts showing more rain this week. Past that – they’re also trying to buy back some acreage ahead of Thursday’s prospective planting update. Those numbers, along with the quarterly stocks projections, are out at 7:30 AM Central. Soybean meal and oil were higher on spillover from soybeans and the fundamental implications of crop loss and quality decline for South American beans.
Corn was modestly higher on technical buying and spillover from wheat and beans. There was no real fresh news for corn but the supply and demand fundamentals remain bullish. In any event, there’s continued talk that corn still needs to buy more acreage to meet the demand projections, helping new crop outgain old crop. Also, there are possible, and in some cases probable, planting delays in some key areas of the Cornbelt. Ethanol futures were mostly higher.
The wheat complex was higher on technical and speculative buying. Kansas City led the way up on the generally worrisome condition of the U.S. hard red winter crop with 35% of Kansas’ crop in poor to very poor condition and Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado in even worse shape. Also, there are concerns about wet weather and cool soil temperatures hampering the crop’s exit from dormancy in the soft red winter region and possible spring wheat planting delays in the Northern Plains. Japan bought 5,800 tons of milling wheat in a sell-buy-sell tender. European wheat was lower ahead of Thursday’s USDA numbers.
Cattle sell in Nebraska at higher prices
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
DTN reported a regional buyer purchased a large string of cattle in Nebraska as high as 196.00, 6.00 above last week’s top. For the most part cattle country was quiet on Tuesday with no bids reported. Asking prices are around 120.00 plus in the South and 195.00 plus in the North. Significant trade volume could develop as early as Wednesday given short bought packers and decent processing margins. The cattle slaughter was estimated at 124,000 head, 6,000 less than last week, and down 2,000 from a year ago.
Boxed beef cutout values were higher on the choice and weak on select with light demand and offerings. Choice boxed beef was up 1.07 at 187.49, and select was .37 lower at 185.01.
Live cattle contracts settled 2 to 92 points higher on the Chicago Mercantile exchange on Tuesday. Futures bounced higher with renewed support and held the bullish tone in the market following the moderate pullback seen on Monday. Ideas of an improved cash market this week along with higher boxed beef values at midday were supportive to futures. April settled .42 higher at 118.37, and June was up .92 at 117.90.
Feeder cattle followed the lead of the live pit and ended 40 to 90 points higher. Higher prices at the feeder auctions this week leant additional support to feeder futures. April was up .80 at 133.70, and May settled .40 higher at 137.57.
Feeder cattle receipts at the Joplin Regional Stockyards totaled 6,000 head on Monday. Compared to last week feeder steers sold steady to 4.00 higher, and heifers were steady to 5.00 higher. Feeder steers medium and large 1 weighing 500 to 600 pounds traded from 137.00 to 167.00, 7 to 8 weights from 124.00 to 136.50. Heifers weighing 500 to 600 pounds brought 127.00 to 143.00 and 7 to 8 weights from 116.50 to 122.00.
Lean hogs ended the session 10 to 100 points higher on the stronger cash market at midday and the continued optimistic outlook for pork exports. Several contracts hit new highs and the April was up 1.00 at 93.60 achieving a five week high, June was up .22 at 103.47.
There was moderate market activity in the hogs with moderate demand on Tuesday. Barrows and gilts in the Iowa/Minnesota direct trade closed 3.19 higher at 88.48 on a carcass basis, the West was up 2.99 at 87.77, and the East was 1.38 higher at 84.41. Missouri direct base carcass meat price closed steady to 1.00 higher from 78.00 to 79.00. Terminal barrows and gilts were steady to 2.00 higher with an instance of 3.50 higher from 56.50 to 63.00 live.
Pork trading was moderate, with mostly light to moderate demand and light to mostly moderate offerings. Pork carcass cutout value was .94 lower at 93.27.
Tuesday’s hog slaughter was 423,000 head, 2,000 more than last week, but 9,000 less than last year. Even though the March 1 hogs and pigs report show only slight expansion interest, the combination of lofty deferred lean futures and the defensiveness in the corn would seem to have the potential to spark large production plans at any time. More specifically it looks like producers can now lock in positive margins through mid 2012 according to John Harrington at DTN.
Projections of Chinese demand ‘staggering’
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Members of an Iowa Soybean Association trade mission to China are hearing some pretty incredible numbers in regards to the anticipated growth in Chinese imports of corn and soybeans over the next few years.
In fact, one of the participants calls the numbers “staggering.”
ISA’s director of market development Grant Kimberley says, based on their discussions with Chinese importers, China’s soybean purchases could increase by approximately 13 million metric tons over the next five years—a figure equivalent to Iowa’s annual soybean production.
“They are projecting that, in the next five years, you’ll see soybean demand—or demand for imports in China—increase to 68 million metric tons,” Kimberley says. “Currently, at the end of this year, they’ll be importing about 55 million metric tons.”
Kimberley says the corn import projections they’re hearing are equally as impressive.
“They’re projecting that, even by the end of this year, they’ll still import a little bit over four million metric tons of corn,” he says, “and by 2015, they’re going to have to start importing over 20 million metric tons of corn.”
Kimberley says China’s feed production has grown at rate of ten to 12 percent annually over the past three years. As Chinese citizens increase their meat consumption, he says there is no reason to doubt that growth will not continue.
According to a Dow Jones report, an official of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is projecting China’s corn imports may reach 2.5 million metric tons by the end of the 2010-11 crop year. The most China has ever imported was 4.3 million tons in 1994-95, following a disastrous harvest.
Link to trade mission blog by ISA director of communications Karen Simon
Closing Grain and Livestock Futures: March 29, 2011
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
May corn closed at $6.71 and 3/4, up 3/4 cent
May soybeans closed at $13.61 and 1/2, up 13 cents
May soybean meal closed at $358.60, up $5.00
May soybean oil closed at 57.02, up 49 points
May wheat closed at $7.37 and 1/4, up 12 cents
April live cattle closed at $118.37, up 42 cents
April lean hogs closed at $93.60, up $1.00
May crude oil closed at $104.79, up 81 cents
May cotton closed at 194.88, down 261 points
April Class III milk closed at $16.76, down 28 cents
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 12,279.01, up 81.13 points
Nebraska, Kansas wheat crops still hurting
March 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The condition of Nebraska’s wheat crop remains well below last year’s levels.
The monthly crop and weather report from Nebraska Ag Statistics indicates 40 percent of the crop is in good to excellent condition, with 43 percent fair and 17 poor to very poor. Much of the crop was planted into dry soils last fall and precipitation levels this spring remain well below normal in many areas.
In Kansas, the latest report on wheat conditions continued to show some improvement, although 35 percent of the crop is still rated poor to very poor. Thirty-one percent of the Kansas wheat crop rated good to excellent.
Latest: 
