The planning period for producers is over and it is now time to put the plans in place. There may be a few acres undecided on which crop to plant but at this point those acres will be more determined by planting conditions and weather than by other factors.

Overall, we are seeing a little more optimism this year compared to a year ago. Some of that optimism has been tempered lately by the March 31 Prospective Plantings report and by weakness in the grain and cotton markets. With large supplies and more than adequate acres of planting intentions, the realization that prices are going to have a hard time rallying up from current levels is starting to sink in. Continue reading at Southeast Farm Press.

April 11, 2017 – USDA World Supply and Demand Estimates

Corn

This month’s 2016/17 U.S. corn outlook is for increased corn used to produce ethanol, reduced feed and residual use and unchanged ending stocks. Corn used to produce ethanol is raised 50 million bushels to 5,450 million based on the most recent data from the Grain Crushings and CoProducts Production report which estimated the amount of corn used to produce ethanol to be record high during December-February. The pace of weekly ethanol production during March as indicated by Energy Information Administration data has also been above expectations. Offsetting is a 50 million bushel reduction in projected feed and residual use to 5,500 million bushels based on disappearance indicated during the first half of the marketing year in the March 31 Grain Stocks. With offsetting usage changes, ending stocks are unchanged from last month. The season-average corn price received by producers is unchanged at the midpoint with the range narrowed to $3.25 to $3.55 per bushel. Continue reading at April 11, 2017 – USDA World Supply and Demand Estimates.

CORN PLANTING BEGINS

Despite windy conditions that hindered the application of burn-down herbicides, corn producers were able to begin planting. In general, pasture condition improved after recent rains, allowing livestock producers to reduce the amount of hay fed. However, pasture in some areas still showed the lingering effects of last year’s drought. Fruit growers were concerned about how a late week freeze might affect their crops. There were 3.6 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was 3 percent short, 76 percent adequate, and 21 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels were 1 percent very short, 7 percent short, 80 percent adequate, and 12 percent surplus. Continue reading the Tennessee NASS Crop Progress report  at TN_04_10_17.  The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at  CropProg-04-10-2017.

Corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat were down for the week. Price declines for corn, soybeans, and wheat moderated this week as markets search for new information. With the USDA March reports out of the way, focus will now shift to planting progress and weather forecasts.

Since early October, December corn has traded mostly between $3.75 and $4.00 with only occasional moves outside of this range.

November soybeans have decreased over 70 cents since the beginning of March. Fortunately, the projected price for crop insurance was set at $10.19 providing some revenue support at a higher level than current market offerings. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

On Friday, March 31, 2017, the USDA released its annual Prospective Plantings report (http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/ProsPlan/ProsPlan-03-31-2017.pdf) and quarterly Grain Stocks report  (http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/GraiStoc/GraiStoc-03-31-2017.pdf). Continue reading 2017 Prospective Plantings for  a summary of the reports, both nationally and for Tennessee, and profitability updates for corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat in Tennessee.

While I have not heard of any reports of major diseases in wheat in Tennessee, I won’t be surprised if that changes over the next couple of weeks. To better guide fungicide decisions, one first needs to correctly identify what disease they are trying to manage. Resources on both disease identification and fungicide selection can be found on the new, mobile-friendly field guide at guide.utcrop.com. Continue reading →

RAINS KEEP PRODUCERS OUT OF THE FIELD

Rains across most of the State has helped green up pastures. At the same time, very little corn has been planted and producers are anxious to start getting corn, as well as their other crops, in the ground. Because of the incessant rains, there were only 2.9 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture was 3 percent short, 74 percent adequate, and 23 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture levels were 1 percent very short, 8 percent short, 78 percent adequate, and 13 percent surplus. The earlier hard freeze caused light to severe damage to most of the wheat crop. Wheat damage from the previous freeze was 6 percent severe, 31 percent moderate, 27 percent light, and 36 percent no freeze damage. Continue reading the Tennessee NASS Crop Progress report  at TN_04_03_17. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at CropProg-04-03-2017.

Corn was up; cotton and soybeans were down; and wheat was mixed for the week. On Friday, the USDA released the Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports. Before the USDA reports were released, harvest futures for corn, cotton, soybeans, and wheat were trading at $3.82/bu, $0.735/lb, $9.58/bu, and $4.35/bu, respectively. For the day, corn closed at $3.88 ¼, cotton at $0.7409, soybeans at $9.54, and wheat $4.39. Overall the reports were bearish for soybeans and neutral-to-bullish for corn, cotton, and wheat. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.