Corn, soybeans and wheat all spill lower week-over-week. By: Ben Potter USDA’s new export report, covering the week through February 11, didn’t have a lot of bullish data to digest after it was released Friday morning. Old crop corn sales sagged 67% below the prior four-week average, with old crop soybean sales down 53% over […]
Last week, Bloomberg writers Isis Almeida, Samy Adghirni, and Tatiana Freitas reported that, “Brazil is close to an agreement that would allow the world’s second-largest corn exporter to boost sales of the grain to China, a move that could threaten the U.S.’s dominance, according to people familiar with the matter. “Talks between the governments of Brazil and […]
Last week, in its monthly Grain: World Markets and Trade report, the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) explained that, “Trade data for 2019/20 (October-September) are largely complete. Many countries imported record volumes of corn, despite initial concerns over a potential slowdown in feed use due to COVID-19. For 2020/21, global trade for major feed grains is forecast to grow significantly from […]
The U.S. animal protein sector is expected to face a 12% increase in feed costs in 2021, which will mark the highest year-over-year inflation since 2011. With corn futures above $4 per bushel and soybean meal futures around $350 per ton, cattle feeders, hog producers and chicken producers will pay higher prices for feed than […]
Corn and soybean meal prices declined sharply from late January to early August, and then increased significantly in response to deteriorating crop conditions and the potential for strong exports of corn and soybeans during the 20/21 marketing year. Given the uncertainty related to supply and demand, feed prices are likely to be volatile through at […]
Bloomberg writer Dominic Carey reported earlier this month that, “U.S. red-meat production surged to a record in October, months after the coronavirus disrupted slaughterhouses. “Production reached 5.09 billion pounds, up 8.1% from September and 0.4% from a year earlier, U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed [on November 19th]. That marked the highest since the monthly data started in 1944.” The Bloomberg article stated […]
A third round of feeding trials conducted by a team of USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and university scientists has again shown that a dietary supplement called L-glutamine can naturally promote growth and wellness in pigs. Jay S. Johnson, an animal scientist with ARS’s Livestock Behavior Research Unit in West Lafayette, Indiana, and his Purdue […]
The 2020 growing season was drier than average, with the majority of North Dakota receiving below-average precipitation throughout the season. As a result, 65% of the state is experiencing drought, and an additional 27% is considered abnormally dry. Ranchers have reported up to 60% reductions in forage production on pasture, range and hay land due […]
Harvesting, Sampling, and Testing: This year, slow grain dry-down, delayed harvest, and late-season rainfall have led to fairly high levels of one or more ear rots (Gibberella, Fusarium, Diplodia and Trichoderma) in some corn fields. Of these, Gibberella ear rot (GER) has been the most frequently reported and is the ear rot of greatest concerns […]
As feed prices rise, calf prices tend to trend lower, according to Karl Hoppe, the North Dakota State University Extension livestock systems specialist based at NDSU’s Carrington Research Extension Center. Feed prices have risen since last summer. For example, corn prices have increased $1 per bushel in some North Dakota markets. Backgrounding cattle is a […]