Farmers are likely to increase the number of acres devoted to soybeans this spring in response to the profitability of soybeans this season. Soybeans will have to compete with $5.00 plus corn, but there should be enough area available to increase cultivation of both crops. We have plotted the soybean Read more
The USDA estimated cattle on feed February 1, 2021 at 12.1 million head, about equal to the record established in 2006. Placements increased in January compared to a year ago. Finished cattle marketings fell short of the year earlier level last month. Non fed cattle slaughter fell sharply in January. Read more
USDA increased the 2021 US .beef production estimate this month. A record number of cattle on feed compared to the total cattle inventory may have prompted the increase. We have scattered Midwest finished steer prices against the domestic per capita beef supply for the April/June period. Note that current Read more
China’s big dive into the international corn market caught many traders and the USDA by surprise. China’s corn production in 2020 was about the same as a year earlier according to USDA data. China’s stock data is questionable but it does suggest a reduction in inventory. China’s decision to increase Read more
The big corn export sales to China talked about for several weeks showed in this week’s export sales report. The accompanying scatter study displays crop year US corn exports as a function of export sales at the end of January. US corn sales for 2020/2021 delivery totaled 2.2 billion bushels Read more
The USDA estimated the number of steers and heifers on January 1 at 12.2 million head which is slightly larger than the year earlier level. The number of steers and heifers sent to market during the first half of 2021 will likely exceed the 2020 level as cattle sales last Read more