Corn and wheat were up; soybeans and cotton were down for the week. Nearby corn futures remain range bound, trading between $3.45 and $3.70; however, March futures prices have closed up for three consecutive weeks. Rallies, even small ones, should be viewed as opportunities for old crop sales. Look for basis opportunities to assist in obtaining higher cash corn prices. New crop corn is currently trading just under $4.00. Similar to old crop, prices have climbed for three straight weeks. Given large domestic supplies pricing some 2018 production when harvest futures are near $4.00 should be strongly considered. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

On the average, Tennessee had a great year yield wise. New state records were set for corn at 171 bushels per acre and soybeans at 50 bushels per acre. Cotton also came in at the third-highest yield on record at 1,031 pounds per acre. This is also representative of producer’s individual yields, as most farmers have also had very good yields. Continue reading at Southeast Farm Press.

Corn, soybeans, and wheat were up; cotton was down for the week. This week corn and wheat futures provided a glimmer of hope that prices could start to rally. A major move remains unlikely due to large domestic and global supplies but a move above the current trading ranges would be welcomed by producers looking to sell the remainder of their 2017 production. Since November 10, 2017, corn harvest futures have traded between $3.79 ¼ and $3.91, a narrow trading range of 11 ¾ cents. Over the same time period, harvest soybean futures have traded between $9.67 ½ and $10.24, a trading range of 56 ½ cents. Greater volatility in soybean prices relative to corn exists due to more uncertainty in the market. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat were up for the week. Prices were up this week after last week’s USDA reports release. Export sales remain important for old crop prices. Currently, corn, soybean, and wheat sales are behind the export sales pace required to meet USDA’s marketing year projection. Corn export sales commitments are currently 2% behind the 5-year average, while wheat and soybeans lag the 5-year average by 6% and 14%,  respectively. Cotton export commitments are currently exceeding the 5-year average pace by 11%.

Closing the export sales gap for corn, soybeans, and wheat will be essential to avoid further buildup of domestic stocks. Cotton exports continue to fuel the nearby futures rally, however, harvest 2018 futures have been resistant to moving beyond 75-76 cents. New crop relative prices between corn, soybean, and cotton will be closely followed as producers gear up for 2018 planting. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

Cotton was up; corn, soybeans, and wheat were down for the week.
On Friday, USDA released three reports Winter Wheat and Canola Seedings,
Grain Stocks, and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE).
By the end of the day wheat, cotton, and corn were down and soybeans were
up. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

The 2018 Tennessee Row Crop Budgets were developed to assist producers and other  agricultural decision makers to evaluate the returns of different row cropping alternatives. The budgets developed use production alternatives, management strategies, machinery, and inputs that are commonly utilized in row crop production in Tennessee. Given the diverse nature of row crop production in the state, it is impossible to account for all possible production scenarios and circumstances. As such, this guide should be utilized to assist decision makers in their annual planning efforts. To develop a custom budget for a specific field or operation interested parties are strongly encouraged to use the Excel-based spreadsheet available for download below. The spreadsheet uses the same format as the budgets contained in the PDF documents; however, it allows the user to change yields, input quantities, input prices, machinery costs, and add additional costs that are specific to a field or enterprise. This allows users to adjust for region- and site-specific production methodology and input selections. Continue reading at UT Crop Budgets.

Record corn and soybean yields for 2017 crop

Corn production in Tennessee is estimated at 121 million bushels, up 1 percent from the November forecast and down 3 percent from the previous crop. Yield was estimated at 171 bushels per acre, unchanged bushels from the previous forecast and up 20 bushels from the 2016 level. Acres for harvest as grain were estimated at 710,000 acres, down 120,000 acres from 2016. U.S. corn production is estimated at 14.6 billion bushels, up slightly from the November forecast and down 4 percent from 2016. Yields averaged 176.6 bushels per acre, up 1.2 bushels from the previous forecast and up 2.0 bushels from 2016. Area harvested for grain was estimated at 82.7 million acres, down 1 percent from the November forecast and down 5 percent from 2016. Continue reading at  PRJAN18_TN.