In the News

Valley Irrigation's ICON control panel series named Agri Marketing magazine's NEW Product of the Year. Minnesota Biodiesel named Product of the Year! To schedule your organization's congratulatory ad contact Audrey Evans at 515-954-8589. AudreyE@AgriMarketing.com.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0075	3.4225	3.5075
Soybeans	+0.0275	9.9325	10.3425
Wheat	-0.1150	4.1575	4.0150
Cattle	-0.10	124.58	109.675
Hogs	+2.33	69.40	49.75
Cotton	+2.58	71.93	73.08
Milk	+0.15	15.42	16.74
Crude Oil	+2.24	58.95	47.96

The grains complex was mostly quiet in a holiday-shortened week, with the exception being wheat. Wheat futures fell apart on Friday, falling to new contract lows in Chicago and Kansas City as abundant world supplies and lackluster exports hang over the market. Corn futures were nearly unchanged on the week while soybeans were up slightly thanks to strength on Friday. Corn and soybeans were underpinned by uncertainty over South American production, particularly in Argentina, where dryness is an issue. Record-high ethanol production was also supportive. However, Brazil weather remains mostly favorable and exports of corn and soybeans are falling short of the pace needed to meet USDA's projections. The U.S. harvest is essentially finished. Cotton futures meanwhile soared, on another week of very strong export sales, technical buying and pest problems with India's crop, which is expected to reduce their exports. A weak U.S. dollar index was supportive for cotton as well as rice futures, which climbed to a new one-month high. In the energy complex, crude oil continued its run, rallying to another 2 ½-year high on a front-month basis as traders looked ahead to this week's OPEC meeting.

In the livestock complex, lean hog futures rallied amid firm wholesale pork values, strong packer margins and technical buying. While hog supplies are comfortable, strong packer margins should encourage good competition for hogs on any tightening of supplies. Live cattle futures fell to a four-week low early in the week amid rising feedlot inventories but rebounded late in the week. Southern Plains cash cattle trade occurred early in the week at $118, down $1 from the prior week. Stronger wholesale beef prices helped to bolster packer margins, which had thinned in recent weeks. The monthly Cold Storage report had little impact on the hog or cattle markets.

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