All posts by Chuck Danehower, Extension Area Specialist - Farm Management

27 Nov 2011

Weekly Crop Marketing Comments

27 Nov 2011
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Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat prices are all down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index closed Friday at 79.83, up 1.60 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 564 points for the week at 11,232. Crude Oil closed the week at 96.77 a barrel, down 1.05 a barrel. A shortened trading week brought no real surprises as the commodity market seemed to be dominated by concerns on Europe’s financial debt and a strengthening dollar. This overshadowed positive export sales for cotton, soybeans, and wheat. Continue reading →


21 Nov 2011

Crop Watch

21 Nov 2011
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As reported by NASS on November 21, 2011

END OF HARVEST DRAWS NEAR.  The harvest season in Tennessee is almost complete. Given a few more sunny days, farmers will most likely be wrapping up row crop harvest for 2011. Ninety-nine percent of the cotton acreage has been harvested and only four percent of the soybean acreage still remains. Farmers also made notable progress seeding winter wheat last week. Most of the winter wheat has emerged with over seventy percent rated in good-to-excellent condition. Pastures remained in mostly fair-to-good condition. Tobacco growers continued to prepare their crop for market. Continue reading →


18 Nov 2011

Weekly Crop Marketing Comments

18 Nov 2011
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Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat prices are all down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 78.17, up 1.04 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading down 307 points for the week at 11,847. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 97.23 a barrel, down 1.76 a barrel since last Friday. Concerns over European financial instability and possibly ill effects of the implosion of the brokerage firm MF Global weighed heavy on the commodity market this week. Even large exports of cotton and soybeans to China found a way to have a negative spin put on them. Continue reading →


14 Nov 2011

Crop Watch

14 Nov 2011
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As reported by NASS on November 14, 2011

MILD AUTUMN WEATHER CONTINUES.  Farmers across the state experienced another tranquil weather pattern last week. High pressure dominated the weather at the beginning and ending of the week. The result was seasonable and dry weather conditions. For the second week in a row, farmers made good progress seeding wheat and harvesting soybeans and cotton. All three activities were progressing ahead of the five-year average pace. The first winter wheat condition rating of the season shows the crop in mostly good condition. Other farm activities last week included preparing tobacco for sale, applying lime, and renovating fields. Continue reading →


11 Nov 2011

Weekly Crop Marketing Comments

11 Nov 2011
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Corn, soybeans, and wheat prices are down with cotton prices mixed for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 77.09, down 0.07 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading up 270 points for the day and 182 points for the week at 12,165. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 99.01 a barrel, up 4.72 a barrel since last Friday. USDA released their monthly supply and demand reports on November 9. Continue reading →


09 Nov 2011

Comments on the November 9 USDA Supply & Demand Report

09 Nov 2011
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Corn:  In today’s report, USDA updated corn production by lowering the nationwide yield from 148.1 bushels per acre to 146.7 bushels per acre, the lowest since 2003. The average trade guess was 147.9 bushels. Overall production was reduced 123 million bushels from the October estimate to 12.310 billion bushels. This still is the 4th largest production on record. Continue reading →


07 Nov 2011

Crop Watch

07 Nov 2011
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As reported by NASS on November 7, 2011

MILD AUTUMN WEATHER CONTINUES TO FACILITATE FARM ACTIVITIES

Mild weather early in the week allowed producers to make good progress seeding wheat and harvesting soybeans and cotton. Late week showers helped with wheat emergence and improvement of cool season pastures. Other farm activities last week included preparing tobacco for sale, mowing cotton stalks, tree digging, and marketing calves. Hay supplies are adequate and the majority of cattle are rated to be in good-to-excellent condition. Continue reading →


04 Nov 2011

Weekly Crop Marketing Comments

04 Nov 2011
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Corn is about even with cotton, soybeans and wheat prices down for the week. The December U.S. Dollar Index was trading before the close at 77.16, up 1.94 since last Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was trading down 279 points for the week at 11,951. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 94.29 a barrel, up 1.07 a barrel since last Friday. Monthly jobs data out today fell short of expectations, but upward revisions of previous months were positive. Markets have somewhat been whipsawed this week on a couple of non-agriculture or at least non-fundamental factors. Continue reading →