Final results are in for our 2018 Tennessee soybean variety trials. The pdf and an excel workbook with all tables are available for download here. Be sure to also check out search.utcrops.com, where our mobile-friendly tables will be updated over the next week or so.
Corn, cotton, wheat, and soybeans were up for the week.
For the month of November, March 2019 corn futures were up 2 cents (opened at $3.75 ¾ and closed at $3.77 ¾) with a trading range of $3.67 ¼ to $3.90; December 2019 corn futures were up 1 ¾ cents (opened at $3.98 and closed at $3.99 ¾) with a trading range of $3.91 ¼ to $4.06 ¾; January 2019 soybean futures were up 44 ½ cents (opened at $8.50 ¼ and closed at $8.94 ¾) with a trading range of $8.45 ¾ to $9.00 ¾; November 2019 soybean futures were up 37 cents (opened at $9.02 ¼ and closed at $9.39 ¼) with a trading range of $8.98 to $9.48; March 2019 wheat futures were unchanged for the month (opened and closed at $5.15 ¾) with a trading range of $5.03 ¼ to $5.29; July 2019 wheat futures were down 6 ¼ cents (opened at $5.33 ½ and closed at $5.27 ¼) with a trading range of $5.17 to $5.47 ¾; March 2019 cotton futures were up 0.61 cents (opened at 78.3 and closed at 78.91) with a trading range of 77.18 to 82; and December 2019 cotton futures were up 0.08 cents (opened at 76.95 and closed at 77.03) with a trading range of 76.24 to 79.
Commodities were up across the board this week. Looking toward to the 2019 crop, producers may want to consider pricing some production with December corn futures currently above $4 and November soybean futures above $9.50. This early in the 2019 production season it is not advisable to get too aggressive with pricing but starting to consider price offering when futures prices are near these level is warranted. Pricing 10-20% should be considered given the large amount of trade, political, and global economic uncertainty. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.
Our 2018 Tennessee Soybean Variety Trials report is nearly complete! Results for yield and agronomic traits are now available – 2018 Soybean Variety Tests in Tennessee – PRELIM. Disease data will be updated early next week. In the next week or so, these results will also be posted as mobile-friendly, searchable, sortable tables at search.utcrops.com.
Thank you for your patience this year. We pride ourselves on getting data to you as quickly as possible, but, as most of you are aware, this has been a challenging harvest season for soybeans. Persistent rains delayed harvest for many of our variety trial locations, with the county standard tests seeing the worst of these delays. Fewer county locations are reported this year due to issues related to weather delays. In spite of the delayed harvest, yields for the majority of tests were good, averaging 54.8 bu/ac in the research center tests and 53.7 bu/ac in the county tests. Several varieties with average yields exceeding 60 bu/ac were observed.
Be sure to check back next week for updated disease data and excel tables.
Corn: December corn futures traded $0.07 for the week. Corn futures were higher due to good export sales as indicated by the USDA. For the year, corn exports are 16% higher to date when compared to the previous year. The trade agreement between the United States, Mexico, and Canada (USMCA) was signed by all three nations’ leaders. However, the agreement will have to ratified by each nation’s legislatures. Also, the G20 trade summit will take place this weekend and the markets reflected a sense of optimism that these meetings will bode well for U.S. agriculture. Market analysts are predicting that the size of the Brazilian corn crop will be 1.1 billion bushels, which is 3.6% higher than the previous year. For producers with corn either in storage or on a deferred pricing contract, the increase in futures for the week is a sign of hope. Continue reading
Corn, cotton, wheat, and soybeans were up for the week.
A strong finish to the week, due to optimism regarding trade discussions, led prices to close up for the week across the board. Markets will closely monitor trade news out of Buenos Aires, Argentina where G-20 leaders are meeting November 30 and December 1. The anticipated meeting between Presidents Trump and Xi (on Saturday) will dictate price direction early next week, particularly for soybeans. Positive news, indicating a path toward a trade dispute resolution between the world’s two largest economies, will likely result in a continuation of the late week rally, possibly breaking through strong resistance at $9.00 (January soybean contract). Negative reports could trigger a retest of the six month low of $8.26 (January soybean contract).
Total U.S. export commitments (accumulated exports and outstanding sales) for corn, soybeans, and wheat continue to languish well below the required pace to meet USDA’s marketing year projection for the 2018/19 marketing year. Cotton, the lone bright spot, has seen sales wain in recent weeks after very strong sales this summer and early fall. Currently, cotton export commitments are 70% of the USDA marketing year total well above the 5-year average pace of 58%. By comparison, corn, soybean, and wheat export commitments (5-year averages) are 41% (46%), 45% (71%), and 54% (73%). Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.
FALL WEATHER CONTINUES TO CHALLENGE TENNESSEE FARMERS
Tennessee farmers took advantage of rare breaks in the wet weather last week to continue harvesting row crops, primarily soybeans. Not only are there crops to be harvested, producers are also planting winter wheat. There are reports of equipment getting stuck in muddy fields. To date, emerged winter wheat looks good. Cattle producers are starting to feed hay. There were 3.6 days suitable for fieldwork last week. Topsoil moisture rated 1 percent short, 57 percent adequate, and 42 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture rated 1 percent short, 60 percent adequate, and 39 percent surplus. Continue reading at TN_11_26_18. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at CropProg-11-26-2018. This is the last weekly Crop Progress report issued for the 2018 season. The first weekly report for 2019 will be released on Monday, April 1, 2019.
Corn, cotton, wheat, and soybeans were down for the week.
All four commodities were down across the board for an abbreviated Thanksgiving trading week. Limited news will emerge as we enter the Holiday trading season, however trade news will be closely monitored next week with the highly anticipated G20 summit. Agricultural markets will focus on any news from President Xi or Trump regarding tariffs and/or a resolution to the current trade disruption. As information is revealed anticipate further volatility in soybeans. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.