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Nominations for the Nat'l Agri-Marketing Assn (NAMA's) highest honors are now open. For more information click here.

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WEEKLY COMMODITY HIGHLIGHTS

Nearby Futures	Weekly Change	Friday's Close	Year Ago
Corn	+0.0075	4.4625	6.8250
Soybeans	-0.0400	12.0925	15.2350
Wheat	+0.0700	6.0025	7.5250
Cattle	+4.30	181.68	160.53
Hogs	+5.10	83.25	87.00
Cotton	+0.42	84.37	87.50
Milk	+0.45	16.54	18.16
Crude Oil	+4.91	78.16	81.01

Grain and oilseed futures were mostly higher on the week but ended Friday on a sour note. The late swoon put soybeans into negative territory for the week, with the market under pressure from rising Brazilian harvest pressure, low Brazilian export prices and rising expectations for Argentina's production. Sharp losses in soymeal futures also weighed on soybean contracts along with technically-driven selling. Lackluster export demand continues to hang over corn and soybeans. Wheat futures were firm. Grain and oilseed traders are starting to look ahead to U.S. spring plantings, with early expectations for some switching from corn acres to soybeans. But a difficult margin environment is also raising questions about total acreage. Cotton rallied to its highest level in nearly three months, boosted by surging crude oil futures, which gained on the turmoil in the Middle East and continued signs of a strong U.S. economy.

In the livestock complex, live cattle and feeder cattle futures rocketed higher, driven by stronger-than-expected cash fed cattle trade, a further rebound in wholesale beef prices and technically-driven buying. Favorable U.S. economic growth and expectations for this coming Wednesday's semi-annual USDA Cattle Inventory report to confirm further liquidation of the U.S. beef cow herd were also supportive for prices. Lean hog futures also ripped higher, fueled by strengthening cash hog prices, indications of good pork demand and technically-driven buying. Strong operating margins had packers paying up for market-ready hogs as hog runs remained tight following severe winter weather earlier this month. Favorable data on U.S. economic growth helped fuel positive demand sentiment. But futures are now clearly overbought from a technical standpoint, which is likely to slow buying interest, and hog supplies remain large, which should cap the cash market rebound.

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