In the News

The next issue will feature Salutes to NAMA AgBusiness Leader of the year Michael Stern, The Climate Corp and Agri-Marketer of Year Greg Nickerson, Bader Rutter. Plus the annual listing of largest ag agencies. To schedule your ad contact AudreyEvans@AgriMarketing.com.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.1400	3.5700	3.8450
Soybeans	-0.0450	9.5100	10.1875
Wheat	-0.2475	4.0500	4.9575
Cattle	+4.43	129.80	126.50
Hogs	-5.28	63.03	77.03
Cotton	+3.37	78.99	63.49
Milk	-0.03	15.20	13.65
Crude Oil	-3.97	49.63	43.18

Grain and soybean futures were mostly lower on the week as the large South America crop and seasonal decline in U.S. export demand weighed on the market. Old-crop corn contracts broke to their lowest levels in nearly four months on Friday. Fundamentally, much of the central and southern Corn Belt had favorable planting weather, and with forecasts calling for widespread rains to persist into early May, farmers had an added incentive to take advantage of the planting window. Now some traders are on edge about the forecast and the prospect of planting coming to a halt for several days. Soybean futures spent the week chopping around, and the market could continue to do so as traders assess the planting situation. Wheat futures fell amid a lack of crop threats around the world and technical selling that pushed some Chicago and Kansas City contracts to new contract lows. On a front-month basis, soft red and hard red winte r wheat futures fell to their lowest levels in more than three months. The rice market was also bearish, as nearby futures plummeted below the $10 mark amid a lack of export demand and rapid U.S. planting. Cotton futures meanwhile soared, with nearby May making a new contract high with first-notice day approaching.

In the livestock complex, live cattle soared, ending higher every day for the second week in a row in some contracts while setting new contract highs. Better-than-expected cash trade at $131-32 in the Plains, up as much as $4 from the prior week, helped to underpin the complex, and cash is at a very large premium to June futures. Packer margins have improved and beef prices were firm. Lean hog futures meanwhile moved sharply in the other direction, tumbling to new multi-month lows amid ample supplies and continued weakness in cash markets. Through Friday the market had yet to show any signs of bottoming, although it was badly oversold.

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