HIGHER THAN NORMAL TEMPERATURES AND DRY CONDITIONS PERSIST

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture is set to publish its Hay Directory this week, which will assist producers in finding the hay they need for their livestock going into winter. Farmers are feeding hay much earlier this year because of deteriorating pasture conditions, and some are hauling water because of dry ponds. The extremely dry conditions across the state helped producers to finish harvesting their crops but slowed wheat planting and emergence. There was some welcome rain in parts of West Tennessee. There were 6.1 days suitable for field work.Continue reading Tennessee NASS report at tn_10_17_16.  The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at cropprog-10-17-2016.

Now available online (and just-in-time to start planting wheat after our fly-free date of Oct 15th), the 2016 Tennessee Wheat Quick Facts Publication (W 321) is designed to be a single page (printed front/back) summary of the most pertinent information in wheat production stemming from University of TN research. Continue reading →

Corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat were up for the week. On Wednesday the USDA released monthly Crop Production and WASDE reports. Detailed summaries of the reports can be accessed at: http://economics.ag.utk.edu/ outlook.html. Nationally, corn yields were decreased 1 bu/acre from 174.4 to 173.4 bu/acre. If realized this would be an all-time record and 5 bu/ acre above last year. In Tennessee, corn yields were dropped 2 bu/acre, to 148 bu/acre, down 12 bushels acre/from last year. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

This link to October 12, 2016 – USDA World Supply and Demand Estimates  contains a summary of the USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. Domestic balance sheets for corn, soybeans, cotton, and wheat are displayed along with price reaction in futures markets for each commodity on the day of the report release. Additionally, supply and demand estimates for key importing and exporting countries are provided for the current month along with change in estimates from the previous report. The Profitability Outlook section contains estimated returns per acre for each commodity for 2017 based Tennessee state average yield projections and estimated price offerings for 2017(note: cotton prices include a seed and hauling rebate). Variable expenses are based on the University of Tennessee Extension 2016 Row Crop Budgets. Prices are updated monthly; expenses are updated as warranted during the year and may be different than the expenses contained in the 2016 Row Crop Budgets. This section provides an estimation of the current relative profitability amongst major row crops in Tennessee.

The report is prepared monthly by Dr. Aaron Smith and Chuck Danehower.

Released: October 12, 2016

October 1 Tennessee Crop Production Forecast

Corn production in Tennessee is forecast at 118 million bushels, down 1 percent from the September forecast and up 1 percent from the previous crop. Yield was estimated at 148 bushels per acre, down 2 bushels from last month and down 12 bushels from the 2015 level. Continue reeading at octcrop16_tn.

DRY CONDITIONS AID HARVEST BUT SLOW FALL PLANTING

Dry conditions across the state helped most corn producers finish harvesting and allowed cotton and soybean harvest to proceed at a rapid pace. However, these same dry conditions continue to negatively impact pastures and slow fall seeding. Livestock producers in some parts of the state were reporting that the ponds their animals depend on for water were going dry. There were 7.0 days suitable for field work. Continue reading Tennessee NASS report at tn_10_11_16. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at cropprog-10-11-2016.

Corn and soybeans were up; cotton and wheat were down for the week. Corn and soybean export sales exceed expectations for the week. However, the strong sales pace will need to continue in order to meet the USDA’s marketing year projections of 2.175 billion bushels of corn and 1.985 billion bushels of soybeans. Currently, outstanding corn and soybean export sales are up 93% and 27%, from last year at this time. The marketing year for corn and soybeans began September 1 so there is still a substantial amount of time that can change export outlook. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.