Corn, soybean and wheat prices are up while cotton prices are down for the week. The June U.S. Dollar Index before the close is at 80.07, down .44 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is closed up 311 points for the week at 13,233. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 107.31 a barrel, down 0.09 a barrel for the week. Private 2012 U.S. acreage estimates based on producer surveys indicate higher corn acres, slightly lower soybean acres and wheat acres while higher than last year, not quite as high as earlier thought. Additional private survey results will be released as we move toward the March 30 date when USDA will release their Prospective Plantings report. Continue reading
Recent Updates
Weekly Crop Marketing Comments
Soybean prices are up while corn, cotton and wheat prices are down for the week. The March U.S. Dollar Index before the close is at 80.06, up .60 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is currently down 35 points for the week at 12,943. Crude Oil was trading before the close at 107.32 a barrel, down .62 a barrel for the week. Greece took efforts to force compliance in its debt swap deal resulting in a sharply lower euro and strong dollar. Price held up quite well today in the face of a stronger dollar and a more or less neutral USDA report. Continue reading
Profitability Outlook
This table should be used as a guide as yields, prices, and expenses will vary among producers and locations. This table looks at crop prices as of mid-day on March 9, 2012 for 2012 and can give a glimpse of what crop profitability is in Tennessee as of this date. One of the expense items that have to be watched is fertilizer. For reference, in variable expenses below, fertilizer expense per acre is estimated as follows: cotton – $ 153, Soybeans – $55, Corn – $172 (includes 150 units of N), Milo – $138, and wheat/soybeans – $135. Continue reading
Comments on the USDA Supply & Demand Reports
Corn
In today’s report, ending stocks were unchanged at 801 million bushels and a 6.3% stock to use ratio. The trade was expecting stocks of 785 million bushels on an increase in exports. The season average price is projected to range from $5.90 to $6.50 a bushel, up 10 cents on the lower side and down 10 cents on the upper side. Global corn stocks decreased 32 million bushels from last month to 4.903 billion bushels on mainly higher foreign feed use. Corn production in Argentina and Brazil was expected to be 98 million bushels lower than today’s USDA projection which was 39 million bushels higher than February. Continue reading
Bt Corn Refuge Requirements Revisited
My colleague, Angus Catchot at Mississippi State University wrote a good news article addressing Bt corn refuge requirements. Keep in mind that his comments are for Mississippi, and things change for non-cotton growing areas of Tennessee … those not officially designated as “cotton counties” (see below).
You can read Dr. Catchot’s comments on his blog site at http://www.mississippi-crops.com/2012/03/01/the-corn-refuge-conundrum-for-the-south/. Continue reading
Slides Shows from Irrigation Workshop
A number of people asked if we could make available the slides used during the Irrigation Workshop that was held in Jackson on February 23rd. The slide shows can now be viewed at http://www.utcrops.com/presentations.htm.
Weekly Crop Marketing Comments
Prices and comments are through Thursday, March 1, 2012. Corn, soybeans, and wheat prices are up while cotton prices are mixed for the week through Thursday. The March U.S. Dollar Index closed at 78.83, up .53 for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 3 points for the week at 12,980. Crude Oil closed at 108.33 a barrel, down .94 a barrel for the week. February is the month that base prices for crop insurance Revenue Protection is set. Unofficial prices are $5.68 a bushel for corn, 93.35 cents a pound for cotton, and $12.55 a bushel for soybeans. Continue reading
Managing Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth in Grain Sorghum
It appears that Tennessee may have more grain sorghum planted in 2012. Several growers have figured that they can be more profitable with grain sorghum than soybean on some of their farms. Continue reading