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

A sharp rally on Friday allowed corn and wheat futures to finish the week up a couple of cents. Soybeans also had a strong finish Friday closing up 11-13 cents for the day, however, soybean futures were still down 9-12 cents for the week. Cotton moved mostly sideways for the second consecutive week. For now, the December cotton contract appears to  settling in an 80 ½ to 84 ½ cent trading range. Holding the bottom of this rage will be key as we move through September or prices may trend lower.

August was a disastrous month for commodity futures prices as trade disruptions and record projected domestic yields weighed heavily on markets. December corn opened the month at $3.86 ¼ and closed at $3.65, down 21 ¼ cents for the month. November
soybeans opened the month at $9.13 and closed at $8.43 ½, down 69 ½ cents for the month. September wheat opened the month at $5.55 ¼ and closed at $5.18 ½, down 36 ¾ cents for the month. December cotton opened the month at 89.39 and closed at 82.22, down 7.17 cents for the month. Continue reading at Tennessee Market Highlights.

UT Crops has a new podcast. It’s called Call of the Week. It will feature our specialists discussing their most frequent calls and questions from the past seven days, and provide you with a way to enjoy our blog when behind the wheel. Continue reading →

The increase in wheat prices relative to the decrease in soybeans and corn has increased interest in Tennessee for planting wheat this fall.

By design or by accident, producers considering wheat have started the financial planning process for 2019. In doing so, there should be a comparison in how wheat will stack up to other crops competing for the same space on that acre of land. Continue reading at Southeast Farm Press.

USDA announced this week the details of the $12 billion trade assistance package.  One part of the package is the Market Facilitation Program (MFP).

MFP is established under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and administered by FSA. For each commodity covered, the payment rate will be dependent upon the severity of the trade disruption and the period of adjustment to new trade patterns, based on each producer’s actual production. Continue reading →

FARMERS PREPARE FOR HARVEST

Spotty rains did little to hamper field work last week. Corn producers continued to prepare for harvest. Late season hay harvest also continued with some producers reporting problems with armyworms. Cooler temperatures helped the growth of pasture. There were 6.1 days suitable for field work. Topsoil moisture rated 6 percent very short, 22 percent short, 68 percent adequate, and 4 percent surplus. Subsoil moisture rated 8 percent very short, 25 percent short, 65 percent adequate, and 2 percent surplus.   Continue reading at TN_08_27_18. The U.S. Crop Progress report can be read at CropProg-08-27-2018.

The 2018 Mid-South Cotton Defoliation Guide is now available online.  You can access the guide by clicking the above image or any of the embedded links within this post. This guide was compiled by Extension Specialists from throughout the Mid-South and is updated yearly.

Continue reading →