Wheat prices are up; corn about even with cotton and soybean prices down for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index before the close was 80.24 down 0.98 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was 13,286 up 195 points since last Friday. Crude Oil before the close was 96.34 a barrel, down 0.23 a barrel for the week.  A weak jobs report has led to some speculation that the Fed may come in with another round of some form of a stimulus program to bolster the economy. The unemployment rate was reduced from 8.3% to 8.1% as the labor force participation rate fell to 63.5%, the lowest in over 30 years. Continue reading →

Cotton, soybean and wheat prices are up while corn prices are mixed for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index before the close was 81.24 down 0.36 for the week. A weaker Dollar is generally supportive for commodity prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was 13,102 up 102 points today but down 56 points since last Friday. Crude Oil before the close was 96.55 a barrel, up 0.45 a barrel for the week.  Comments today from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke while not unleashing an additional stimulus program did not rule out that one might be needed in the future. Continue reading →

Corn, cotton and soybean prices are up with wheat prices down for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index before the close was 81.51 down 1.15 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was 13,145 down 130 points since last Friday. Crude Oil before the close was 96.22 a barrel, down 0.31 a barrel for the week. Results from the much watched Pro Farmer Crop Tour this week were released Friday afternoon with the national corn average yield pegged at 120.25 bushels per acre in a range of 119.05 to 121.45 bushels per acre. USDA in the August 10 report projected corn yields at 123.4 bushels per acre. Soybean yields were estimated at 34.8 bushels per acre nationwide in a range of 34.1 to 35.5 bushels per acre. Continue reading →

Cotton and soybean prices are up; corn and wheat prices are down for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index before the close was 82.69 up 0.06 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was 13,265, up 58 points since last Friday. Crude Oil before the close was 96.10 a barrel, up 2.78 a barrel for the week. Farm Service Agency certified acres were released this week and by my preliminary review compared to the USDA June 30 report were 1.4 million acres higher for corn; 821,000 acres less for cotton; 1 million acres less for soybeans; and 3.7 million acres less for wheat. Continue reading →

Soybean prices are up, corn and wheat prices are mixed and cotton prices are down for the week. The September U.S. Dollar Index before the close was 82.64 up 0.19 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average before the close was 13,173, up 77 points since last Friday. Crude Oil before the close was 93.12 a barrel, up 1.72 a barrel for the week. USDA reported their monthly numbers today and while not containing any major surprises did have a few minor ones. On the whole this report is neutral for corn and wheat, friendly to soybeans and bearish cotton. Continue reading →

This table should be used as a guide as yields, prices, and expenses will vary among producers and locations. This table looks at yields for Tennessee as reported in the August 10, 2012 USDA Crop Production report crop and prices adjusted for the 2013 production year. Continue reading →

Corn

In today’s report, old crop corn ending stocks were raised 118 million bushels from last month at 1.021 billion bushels as imports increased 3 million bushels with food and seed use reduced 15 million bushels, corn for ethanol cut 50 million bushels and exports reduced 50 million bushels. This total usage reduction of 115 million bushels is no doubt the result of price rationing as prices have continued to move higher. Continue reading →