Animal feed has dropped from 60%+ of total US corn use in the 1980s to less than 40% in the last decade. Nevertheless, feed use is still the largest single usage category and the most price elastic. The accompanying scatter uses US corn feed usage per Grain consuming animal unit Read more…
Feedlots reduced year over year sales of finished cattle last month but increased feeder cattle placements compared to activity in September 2023. Feedlots have reduced year over year marketings as increasing finishing schedules was cheaper than buying expensive feeder cattle. USDA has increased the US beef production 2023 estimate by Read more…
Kansas City wheat prices have been under pressure since the mid harvest period last summer. A moderately larger US wheat crop than had been anticipated based on the early summer crop reports and, more importantly, weak export demand for US wheat, have been the dominant bearish forces. The world wheat Read more…
This month USDA published a modestly tighter US carryout estimate for the 2023/24 crop year based on a smaller crop estimate and smaller old crop carrying in stocks. USDA has reduced the US national average corn yield in each of the last four monthly WASDE reports which was only partially Read more…
The USDA tightened the US soybean usage balance estimate modestly this month by reducing the soybean production estimate based on the October survey.We have reproduced the USDA’s October WASDE report and included scatter studies with the winter high and low for deliverable soybeans as a function of the US soybean Read more…
In the past 50 years cash feeder cattle prices have displayed a bearish bias from early October into the early spring period. Feedlot replacement demand slackens after the fall surge in incoming feeder cattle and the need to push feeder supplies off winter pasture account for the seasonal weakness. Read more…