FC Morning Grain Market Commentary for 7/30/2013

AM Comments 07/30/13

Tuesday, July 30, 2013, 8:17 am
Submitted by: Dustin Weiner

Good morning!

 

Our grain markets found a couple reasons to buy last night (or at least not sell), pushing futures prices a bit higher. The first story is about the crop ratings, U.S. soybeans dropped 1% in the good-to-excellent categories while corn held steady.  I think the market was expecting/hoping to see slight improvements in both. Also – there are plenty of rain chances for this week but totals in Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin could be disappointing.  The best coverage is all pointed South, from Missouri to Southern Indiana & Ohio. 

 

On the flip side of that - as you saw in FC’s Monday Morning Alert on corn from yesterday (link: http://youtu.be/_LjaCjLE1y0) - these cooler nights are likely benefitting the U.S. corn crop. The general weather pattern over the next two weeks show a ridge parked over the Rockies – meaning that there is little to no threat of any extreme heat between now and the middle of August for the Midwest.  If the corn belt can catch a few rains over that time you’d have to assume we are adding bpa to this crop (you know that the market will assume that). 

 

Producer selling has been near non-existent since the break in prices last week.  That may not have a large influence on futures prices – but basis may start to come back around if it continues.  Harvest will be here sooner than you think and it sure feels like any sharp rallies in prices (whether due to basis or futures) are meant to be sold.

 

Opening Calls

Corn 3 to 4 cents higher

Soybeans 3 to 6 cents higher

http://www.fccoop.com/markets/commentary_detail.cfm?CommentaryID=1790

FC Agronomy Alert from Todd Claussen; The pro's and con's of using a Rotary Hoe

My father would say: “the best place for a rotary hoe is on a farm sale”.  I don’t totally agree with this, though a rotary hoe has a very limited window in any given field.

Yesterday, I was on three separate service calls regarding crusting on farms planted April 29 and 30. We recommended a rotary hoe in all three situations.

Timing is so critical with the size of the corn plants. Plants just  below the soil surface to a 1” spike is the safest and most productive range. Once plants un-furl the coleoptile leaf (round tip), the hoe can easily pull these plants from the soil. This results in pulling as many plants out of the ground as helping those under the ground hindered by a crust.

Point is this…check those farms that were planted the 26^th-1^st, particularly if they were too wet to be running.  103 degrees and wind on Tuesday has complicated the situation.

In addition, there are a few farms around that chilling imbibition is causing some problems. Dig some plants, the signs are:

 

-          Swollen seed with no radicle or shoot eruption

-          Corkscrew mesoctyl

-          Leafing out underground

The photo above was taken yesterday by Sheila Hebenstreit in a low, wet heavy farm planted on April 29.

The mesocotyl is hindered and is growing in a corkscrew fashion, the coleoptile sheath has erupted and the seedling is going to leaf out underground. This is in trouble.