RAINS CONTINUE

Rains continued last week, keeping most farmers out of their fields. Corn, cotton, and soybean planting remained on hold as farmers waited for the rains to stop. Tobacco plants were ready to be transplanted, but producers were unable to get into the fields due to excessive moisture. The rains did improve pasture and hay conditions, but many hay fields were short due to the adverse effects of last year’s drought. There were 2.0 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was 1 percent short, 54 percent adequate, and 45 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels were 5 percent short, 65 percent adequate, and 30 percent surplus. Hay and Roughage Supplies were 11 percent very short, 28 percent short, 55 percent adequate, and 6 percent surplus. Continue reading at TN_05_01_17. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at CropProg-05-01-2017.

Rumors of a few hundred planted cotton acres within the state have spread over the past three weeks. Assuming the rumors are true, the state is still less than .5% planted.

As I write this, I’m waiting for the third (and hopefully last) band of rain to sweep through the area to wrap up a very wet and destructive weekend storm system. Soils are again saturated through the heart of Tennessee’s cotton belt. Continue reading →

Corn and wheat were up; cotton was mixed; and soybeans were down for the week. December corn opened April at $3.89 ¾ and closed at $3.85, down 4 ¾ cents for the month. The trading range for April was $3.79 ¼ to $3.95 ¾. In March, the December contract decreased 4 ¾ cents. Corn has traded mostly between $3.75 and $4.00 for the past 7 months.

November soybeans opened April at $9.54 ¾ and closed at $9.53 ¼, down 1 ½ cents for the month. The trading range for April was $9.41 ½ to $9.68 ½. This was after the major price declines in March when the November contract decreased 64 ¼ cents.

December cotton opened April at 74.05 and closed at 74.62, up 0.57 cents for the month. The trading range for April was 72.19 to 75.16 cents. Harvest cotton futures are now at a 5 cent discount compared to the nearby contract. July wheat opened April at $4.42 ¼ and closed at $4.32 ¼, down 10 cents for the month. The trading range for April was $4.49 ½ to $4.16.

Weather will be the dominant influence in markets as we move through the planting and early growing periods. Producers should remain patient and look for marketing opportunities to increase pricing. For example, in each of the past two years the December contract has had short lived rallies above $4.25/bu (July 2015 and June 2016). These marketing opportunities have been brief but it is reasonable to expect we will see a rally during this production season, so producers need to remain vigilant for opportunities to secure profitable prices. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

RAINS HALT FIELD WORK

Rains, sometimes heavy, brought most field work to a standstill. A few isolated cases of flooding were reported with newly planted crops sustaining some damage. Strawberry harvest was also adversely affected. The state’s wheat crop continued to look good. Pasture condition improved with the added moisture. There were 3.4 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was 4 percent short, 64 percent adequate, and 32 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels were 8 percent short, 73 percent adequate, and 19 percent surplus. Continue reading the Tennessee NASS Crop Progress report  at  TN_04_24_17. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at  CropProg-04-24-2017.

West Tennessee Grain Elevator Bids: West Tennessee Grain Bids 4-21-2017

Corn: September corn futures closed $0.09 lower for the week. The average basis for new crop corn was -$0.11 for West Tennessee.

Soybeans: November soybean futures closed $0.05 lower for the week. The average basis for new crop soybeans was -0.16 for West Tennessee. Continue reading →