Another all-time record hog inventory amidst the COVID-19 pandemic extends further downward pressure on prices. The USDA’s June Hogs and Pigs report places the June 1 inventory of all hogs and pigs at 79.6 million head, up 5.2% from a year ago, just above the upper range of pre-report expectations and well above the midpoint of 3.7% […]

Last week, Bloomberg’s Mike Dorning reported that, “U.S. health and agricultural authorities issued thinly veiled criticism of new demands from China for food-exporting companies to sign documents stating that they comply with safety standards to prevent transmission of Covid-19. “‘Efforts by some countries to restrict global food exports related to Covid-19 transmission are not consistent with the known science of transmission,’ U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue […]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing additional flexibilities for producers to file on acres with failed crops or crops that were prevented from planting because of extreme weather events. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is adding these flexibilities for Notice of Loss on both insured and uninsured crops to enable Service Centers to best assist […]

Did you know you can lose two wheat crops from one hail storm? It could be yours or your neighbor’s. The first loss is the current wheat crop being hailed. The second loss is from the disease Wheat Streak Mosaic. One example was when the volunteer wheat from one neighbor’s hailed winter wheat crop served […]

On June 29, the settlement prices were $3.35 per bushel for the December corn contract on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and $8.61 per bushel on the November CME soybean contract.  These settlement prices suggest harvest-time prices near mid-2000 levels, much lower than what has been experienced in most recent years, particularly before 2018, when […]

Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that, “China’s purchases of U.S. goods increased last month as the economy continued its recovery from the coronavirus shutdowns, but imports are still far behind the pace needed to meet the terms of the ‘phase one’ trade deal. “By the end of May this year, China had only bought about 19% of the […]

The majority of North Dakota has experienced a precipitation deficit this growing season, with much of the western and central portion of the state receiving less than 50% of normal precipitation and some areas receiving only 20% to 30% of normal since April 1. The current U.S. Drought Monitor reflects these conditions, with approximately 27% […]

Japanese beetle adults are beginning to emerge in eastern Nebraska. Their distribution has been increasing in Nebraska the last few years and they are being seen in corn and soybeans more frequently (Figure 1), in addition to feeding on landscape trees and shrubs. They will continue to emerge for the next few weeks. First identified […]

September corn up 6 ¾ at $3.4825 Aug beans up 6 ¼ at $8.85 The DOW is down USD is stronger Crude oil up $.19 at $39.46 Good morning, Stocks bulls cheer as the S&P 500 finishes the quarter up +20%, the biggest percentage gain since the fourth quarter of 1998. The Dow Jones Industrial […]

Bloomberg News reported on Friday that, “China plans to accelerate purchases of American farm goods to comply with the phase one trade deal with the U.S. following talks in Hawaii this week. “The world’s top soybean importer intends to increase buying everything from soybeans to corn and ethanol after purchases fell behind due to the coronavirus, said two people familiar with […]