Commodity Marketing
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How’s Your Sugar High?
The Wall Street Journal reported today that the sugar prices are nearing a 30 year high. The benchmark March sugar contract settled at 30.15 per pound yesterday. That was the highest close since January 14, 1981. There was a rally earlier in the year that got close to the same price, however, that rally was […]
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Investors Worry About Accuracy of USDA Reports
In Friday’s Wall Street Journal, there is a front page article in the Money and Investing Section regarding the worry of various investors about how accurate the USDA has been with the latest US corn crop. As most farmers know there has been whipsaws in the reports issued this year. In June, the USDA reported that stockpiles […]
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This Land of Ag Diversification
I spent this weekend and Monday traveling to Boise from Yakima and back again. On the trip down to Boise, I drove through the irrigation section of the Columbia Basin. This area grows a wide variety of crops such as onions, potatoes, wheat, corn, peas, beans, hay and lots of vegetable seed crops. After that, […]
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Begin to Lock in 2011 and 2012 profits?
As corn starts to exceed $5 in price and pricing can be locked in 2011 or even 2012 crops, have you checked your budgets for those years. If you have and are able to lock in your major input prices such as fertilizer and diesel, you should be looking at making $250 per acre or […]
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What is a Super Juice?
I was reading this article on Reuters.com about a “Superfoods Company” Genesis Today revealing a new advertising campaign for their line of “super juices”. These juices are comprised of fruits that tend to have a perceived health benefit such as anti-oxidants, etc. Fruits involved are cranberry, pomegranate, acai and most berries. Their campaign will strive […]
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Cotton Reaches 15 Year High
As cold weather threatens the crop in China, cotton has reached a new 15 year high in prices. At the beginning of 2009, cotton prices were approximately 50 cents a pound. As of today, the price is well over 95 cents a pound and if the adverse weather in China continues, the price may go […]
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New Game Plan for Potash
Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan is one of three Canadian potash producers who Canpotex. Canpotex handles all of their sales outside North America. Two other similar organizations are Belarusian Potash and International Potash. These three entities control nearly 70% of the world’s potash production. By cooperating with each other, they are able to mitigate any decreases […]
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Russia Extends Its Wheat-Export Ban
The Wall Street Journal had a fairly extensive article in today’s paper on the extension of the ban of wheat exports by Russia from December of this year until after next year’s crop. However, as most traders and farmers know, you will believe what Russia says at your own risk. What we do know from […]
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Wheat Basis Has Widened by up to 44%
Kansas State University provides a very good map of basis for most of the major crops over most of a five state region comprising all of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma and parts of Texas and Colorado. These maps on a weekly basis show what the current basis is and how it compares to the three year […]
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Bring Home the Bacon
After at least two years of massive losses, hog farmers are now starting to enjoy much higher prices for their products. Most of the studies I have reviewed indicated that most farmers that raised hogs probably lost anywhere from $20 to $60 per hog produced in 2008 and 2009. Based on the higher current prices, […]