Grain Gleanings

 

 

Grain Market Action

By Jeff Moritz, Lead Grain Merchandiser

Corn and Soybean prices advanced higher this week in whipsawing price action. Concerns about the deluge of rain in Argentina and what adverse impact that could have on the Soybean crop compelled the Managed Money group to reduce their short position. Likewise, dryness in Brazil has prompted the market to add weather premium back to the corn market as the safrinha corn crop is starting to show of stress. Much needed rains are expected for this weekend and into next week.

The positive technical/chart structure for Corn and Soybeans has added to the higher price momentum this week as well. Both row crops traded above their 50 day moving averages and seem well supported above them. However, indicators are starting to show an overbought condition which could lead to a bit of a correction at some point.

As I mentioned before the price action this week has not been for the faint of heart and has led to fast markets. With the Funds covering shorts in ‘blocks’ of positions and the Brazil and US producer reducing physical length, it feels this is just the start of a bumpy ride this spring and summer.

From a cash basis perspective, securing basis for spring and summer deliveries for soybeans and for summer deliveries on corn should be on your ‘marketing radar.’ As this market has rallied this week, basis has widened especially on soybeans as there is not much of an export program for the US and the demand for both row crops are and will be predominantly domestic going forward the rest of the marketing year.

Next week we will get the Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks Report from the USDA. This report release has often caused quite a bit of price volatility. Many in the trade expect over 93 million acres of corn and 85 million acres of soybeans. Could that corn acreage number grow if we have a dry spring? Hard to say but Mother Nature will have the final say as a big spring storm is expected to bring a large amount of precipitation for our trade area and most of the Western Corn Belt this weekend.

If you have a price level in mind as this market moves higher and you head out for spring fieldwork soon, reach out to your local CFC originator and have them put in some Firm Price Offers. With the action we saw late last week and this week, this is the best method to make sure your crop gets marketed at your price goal. Often, with fast price action by the time you call the price may be much different that what you see online or on your CFC app.

On behalf of CFC, we appreciate your business and wish you a safe and successful spring season.

3/22/2024

 

 

Spring Ahead

By Rebecca Johnson, Grain Location Manager, Salem

Springtime is quickly approaching with daylight savings time starting this coming Sunday morning at 2:00 am.  It won’t be long and spring agronomy season will be in full swing.

As the weather continues to warm up it is a good time to check your bins and make sure your grain is still in good condition.  If you have not taken any tops off your bins, it may be a good time to take a few loads out of your bins especially if you can see a crust forming or start to smell a mildew odor coming from the bins.

Most county roads have posted their road limits as the frost has come out of the ground so before you start hauling grain you may want to check what the road limits are in your area and adjust your loads accordingly.

When I began writing this article the grains started the week on an upswing; will see if the upward trend continues through the week and how the WASDE report on Friday affects the markets.  Reach out to any of our grain originators for your marketing needs. It’s never too late to start discussing new crop marketing strategies for harvest 2024.

Wishing you all a safe and productive spring!

3/8/2024

 

 

Grains

By Hunter Behrens, Grain Originator, Lyons

The end of the month on leap year is here and has the market trading mixed today (Thursday). The market started off lower, then back to the upside around 10am, but now around noon hour corn is unchanged and beans lower again down a nickel. US stocks are overall lower with congress avoiding shutdown. US Dollar lower, crude lower and cattle off their high. Wednesday we saw some managed funds do some selling of 1,000 soy oil and buying 4,000 corn; 2,000 soybeans; and 3,000 soymeal. Estimates of the managed funds are short 340,000 corn; 152,000 soybeans; 39,000 soymeal; and 57,000 soy oil. Weekly US corn sales estimated at 600-1,200 mt and soybean exports estimated at 100-600 mt. China continues to buy corn from Ukraine and soybeans from Brazil since they still offer a discount compared to US values. Brazil farmer selling has slowed due to warm and dry weather. Foreign demand has been non-existent in corn we have bought a total of 2.7 MMT vs 4.5 MMT at this time last year. Chinese only has 80k tonnes of unshipped corn purchases vs 430k tonnes last year. Corn needs to average roughly 18.3 million bushels a week till the end of August to reach the USDA’s 2.1-billion-bushel export projection. Hopefully some increases in export demand can help perk up the market along with these oversold conditions we have reached.

3/1/2024

 

 

 

 

Central Farmers has a mobile app that provides real time business information at your hands. By partnering with BUSHEL, we are able to empower you, our producers, to make informed and quicker business decisions with CFC.

  • Access scale tickets, contracts, bushel balances, cash bids and market information— all from your smartphone.
  • Access scale tickets virtually in real time, allowing you to know how many bushels you have delivered and how much still needs to be delivered. The Scale Ticket interface is easy to understand and tracks grade factors such as Moisture and Test Weight.
  • Access your contracts that you have with any CFC location. You will be able to see the status of any contract to find out whether it is filled or is still open.
  • Access real-time bushel balances of your grain across all CFC locations.
  • Access delayed cash bids for all of our CFC locations. You will be able to access Grains, Livestock and Ethanol Futures from CME or MGEX.

You can find the App on Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for iPhones by searching for Central Farmers. Download it today!

 
Click here for the ADM Advantage website
 
Click here for the ADM Crop Insurance Information
 
 
Ask us how you can help keep U.S. ag exports competitive.

FREMAR LLC strongly recommends farmers verify their seed varieties are approved for significant export markets.
We plan to selectively test loads delivered to our grain handling facilities.
We reserve the right to reject crops with unapproved traits.
If you have seed that is not approved for significant export markets, we encourage you to check with your seed sales representative to see if your order can be exchanged for seed that is approved for global use.
 
 
FREMAR LLC will NOT accept any treated soybeans at any of our facilities in grain deliveries.
It is ILLEGAL to dump treated beans at ANY grain facility!
 
 
Due to a recent South Dakota court ruling, all Voluntary Credit Sale contracts (DP, Deferred Pay, Basis), the South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Warehouse Division has notified FREMAR LLC and Central Farmers Cooperative that all Voluntary Credit Sales Contracts must be signed within 30 days of final delivery.
 
 
If FREMAR LLC or Central Farmers does not receive the signed contract at our elevator within 30 days,
the bushels on these contracts must be cashed out at the closing price on that date
and the check will be mailed to the producer.
  
Please click here for the official South Dakota Public Utilities Commission Warehouse Division Ruling 

 
 
 
The CBOT trading hours are:
Sunday - Thursday night hours are 7:00pm - 7:45am. 
Monday - Friday day hours are 8:30am - 1:15pm.

Central Farmers Cooperative continues to purchase grain for all locations while the CBOT is open and closed.
The extended hours continue to put more volatility into the market.  We encourage our customers to continue to utilize our offer system.  Your offers have the potential to be filled at any time while the market is open.
Please call your local Central Farmers Cooperative location to place your offers as well as any questions you may have.
Thanks as always for your patronage.
 

 



Origination Staff

Matt Morog
Grain Department Manager
605-871-3809
Jeff Moritz
Lead Grain Merchandiser
605-661-1106
Jake Moret
Grain Originator
605-941-8141
 
Hunter Behrens
Lyons Grain Originator
605-543-5400
 
  
Christopher Owen
Dimock Location
605-928-3393
 
Terry Kampshoff
Canova Location Manager
605-661-7724
Mike Sayler
Freeman Location Manager
605-360-7880
  
Rebecca Johnson
Salem Elevator Location Manager
605-425-2280