In the News

Case IH's Early Riser planter named Agri Marketing magazine's 2016 NEW Product of the Year, DuPont Pioneer's Plenish High Oelic soybeans named Product of the Year. To schedule your organization's congratulatory ad contact Audrey Evans at AudreyE@AgriMarketing.com; 515-954-8589.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0850	3.4025	3.6225
Soybeans	-0.0300	9.7850	8.6850
Wheat	-0.1125	4.0300	4.9475
Cattle	2.88	150.60	131.32
Hogs	0.98	47.13	56.17
Cotton	-0.09	68.44	62.18
Milk	-0.11	16.69	15.45
Crude Oil	-0.86	43.21	42.93

Grain and soybean futures were down on the week, with the surging U.S. dollar becoming an increasingly negative factor as the week wore on. The dollar's surge following the election of Donald Trump has negative implications for exports. In particular, the Mexican peso's plunge versus the dollar does not bode well for its corn import demand. The other negative factor was Wednesday's USDA report, which was bearish for both corn and soybeans. USDA raised its corn and soybean yield estimates to a record 175.3 and 52.5 bushels per acre respectively. The crop increases overshadowed modest demand increases, and the result is USDA now sees 2016-17 U.S. corn carryout at a burdensome 2.403 billion bushels and soybeans at 480 million. The longer-term outlook for soybeans as of now is especially bearish, as current expectations are for a sizable increase in U.S. planted acres in 2017. Meanwhile South American weather conditions are mostly favorable for corn and soybeans. Cotton was down slightly on the week and remains in a sideways pattern. After spiking on Friday, the market retreated sharply and ended 3 cents off the day's high. In addition to crop prices, the dollar also pressured the energy complex, as crude oil fell and natural gas dropped amid continued warm weather.

In the livestock complex, optimism about the economy and relief about the stock market following an initial post-election plunge helped drive live cattle futures higher. The market surged after initially following a to a two-week low on Monday. Beef packers are still enjoying very strong margins, however beef production is ample to meet demand, which kept wholesale beef prices under pressure. Lean hog futures were also up on the week, with strong gains Friday even as the CME cash hog index slid to a new 7-year-low. Strong pork packer margins should spark competition for hogs once supplies start to tighten seasonally.

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