Corn, cotton, and wheat were up; and soybeans were down for the week.

This past week was a volatile week in commodity futures markets. The biggest story in agricultural markets this week was the announcement, by China, of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products such as soybeans, corn, wheat, sorghum, beef, and cotton. It is important to point out that these tariffs have not been implemented yet simply announced
as potential retaliatory measures to be imposed in the future. If the tariffs were  it would not be good for U.S. agriculture, particularly for commodities that rely on exports to China, such as soybeans and cotton. Hopefully the two nations can work out their trade differences prior to the enactment of the tariffs.

When the tariffs were announced on Wednesday futures prices immediately dropped: soybeans 40-50 cents; corn 10-15 cents; wheat 10-15 cents; and cotton 1.5-2.5 cents. By the close of Thursday all four commodities had regained all or most of these loses. While I’m not yet convinced that the tariffs on soybeans will come in to effect (Chinese soybean consumers have as much to lose as US soybean producers), in the short-term we could potentially see accelerated export sales and shipments before the proposed tariffs are scheduled to be implemented as exporters attempt to secure and deliver product before tariff implementation. This could support prices in the short term. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

Please see the information below on the Farmers and Suicide Prevention web page created by the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network in partnership with Tennessee Department of Agriculture.  There are some good publications on this website.  The web page can be found here – http://tspn.org/farmers-and-suicide-prevention .

Farmers and Suicide Prevention

No population is immune to suicide, least of all farmers who face financial worries,  unpredictable weather, plant pests, livestock diseases, and isolation. With this information, TSPN is proud to debut a NEW PAGE on our website highlighting this at risk group partnering with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. With this partnership, TSPN is forming a Task Force to see how we can address this issue in Tennessee. As all those who have been impacted by loss or lived experience with suicide are important to us, we would like to hear your stories and get your involvement in this new Task Force. It is a priority to have those who work in this field represented on the Task Force and to hear from you how we can best impact this at risk group.  If you would like to submit a story or be a part of the Task Force please email tspn@tspn.org.

A Summary of the USDA’s Prospective Planting and Grain Stocks Report

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Profitability Update

March 29, 2018

On March 29, 2018, the USDA released the Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports. The Prospective Plantings report provides projections for planted acreage for specified commodities. The projections provide an initial estimate of planted acreage (and potential production) for primary row crops. Below is a summary of the 2018 report projections and 2012-2017 March projections and final planted acreage estimates for corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat, nationally and for Tennessee. Continue reading at ProspectivePlantingsGrainStocks032918.

CONTINUOUS RAINS HAVE BOTH ANVANTAGEOUS, ADVERSE EFFECTS

Unrelenting rains and the resulting soaked soil kept producers out of the field, allowing only 2.3 days suitable for field work. The rains, as customary, helped in some areas while delaying progress in others. The rain kept most producers who had planned to plant corn at bay, while wheat flourished from the rains and was in mostly good to excellent condition. Both pastures and cattle were in mostly good condition. Apples in full bloom were well ahead of last year. Topsoil moisture was 1 percent short, 48 percent adequate, and 51 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture was 4 percent short, 53 percent adequate, and 43 percent surplus. Continue reading at TN_04_02_18.  The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at CropProg-04-02-2018.

Corn and soybeans were up; cotton was mixed; and wheat was down for the week.

On Thursday March 29th, USDA released the Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports. The markets reacted swiftly after the reports were released with corn (10-15 cents), soybeans (25-35 cents), wheat (5-10 cents), and cotton (0.5-1.5 cents) futures trading up.

The biggest surprise was planted acreage. Corn planted acreage was projected at 88 million acres, down 2% compared to last year; soybean planted acreage was projected at 89 million acres, down 1% compared to last year, wheat planted acreage was projected at 47.3 million acres, up 3% compared to last year; and cotton planted acreage was projected at 13.5 million acres, up 4% compared to last year. Overall, net planted acreage for the four commodities was projected down 1.115 million acres. This almost makes up all of USDA’s projected decrease in principle crop area planted (16 commodities) of 1.158 million acres (317.989 in 2018 compared to 319.147 in 2017). For comparison, the decrease in principle crop acreage planted between 2016 and 2017 was 91,000 acres (319.238 to 319.147). Having projected corn and soybean acres planted simultaneously decrease caught the market off guard as typically acreage decreases for corn are partially offset by increases in soybeans and vice versa. It remains to be seen, but adding some additional acreage back to corn and soybeans seems probable. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.