In the News

The next issue of Agri Marketing will feature Salutes to NAMA's Leaders of the Year: Calvin Ernst, Ernst Conservation Seeds; Kendal Frazier, NCBA, and Ed Peck, Filament. To schedule your congratulatory ad contact Audrey Evans: AudreyE@AgriMarketing.com; 515-954-8589.

WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	-0.0900	3.8550	3.5775
Soybeans	-0.2475	10.4025	9.4675
Wheat	-0.1200	4.7725	4.0625
Cattle	+0.08	103.73	129.63
Hogs	-0.10	77.55	63.80
Cotton	+1.38	84.73	80.07
Milk	+0.20	14.90	15.18
Crude Oil	+1.07	68.40	50.27

Grain and soybean futures were down on the week as the weather outlook for the Midwest finally started to improve. Corn and soybeans both fell to their lowest levels in a couple of weeks, as traders looked past the unusual mid-April cold and snow to the warming temperatures and drier conditions that are emerging this week. While the Upper Midwest still needs more warming and drying, planting is picking up in the heart of the Corn Belt. While planting this time of year is typically focused on corn, there are many anecdotal reports of farmers planting soybeans early this year instead. Whatever gets planted, it will start the season in good soil moisture conditions thanks to recent rains and snow. Wheat futures were down on the week, pressured by an approaching storm system in the southern Plains and warmer conditions in the northern Plains. Cotton futures rallied, with December hitting a new contract high Friday on strong export demand, mill fixations and concern about the West Texas crop. Surging crude oil futures added some underlying support to cotton, as crude surged again to another three-year high on tightening global supplies.

In the livestock complex, lean hog futures rallied to new one-month highs at mid-week, propelled by robust cash price movement, before profit-taking set in on Friday. Summer-month contracts led the gains despite their already-huge premiums to cash. Live cattle futures stumbled on Friday amid profit-taking ahead of the Cattle on Feed report, but were underpinned throughout the week by stronger Plains cash cattle trade. The Cattle on Feed report was aligned with expectations, as it showed placements at just 90.7% of a year earlier, while March marketings were at 96.1% of a year ago. The drop in placements was compared to record-high March 2017 placements.

Click on the Brock logo or call 1-800-558-3431 for more info on our services.