News from Brock Associates

USDA Seen Lowering 2013-2014 Corn Carryout

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:35:00 +0000

Wednesday morning’s monthly supply/demand update from USDA is expected to show a drop of nearly 200 million bushels in the projected U.S. corn carryout for 2013-2014 due to reduced production prospects.

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Rains Create New Acreage Concerns

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:17:00 +0000

Corn and soybean traders are questioning the old saying that "rain makes grain" with the Midwest already wet and Wednesday weather forecasts calling for excessive rains across some key production regions the end of last week.

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Farmers’ Share of Losses

Tue, 21 May 2013 21:10:00 +0000

With the farm bill in what could be the final stages before vote, there’s still some talk of cutting crop insurance subsidies. This led Tom Zacharias, president of National Crop Insurance Services to point out that before farmers received a dime in crop insurance indemnity payments, they had shouldered $12.7 billion in losses as part of their deductibles to crop insurance policies. In addition, the premiums paid by farmers totaled $4.1 billion – bringing their share of the disaster to $16.8 billion.

News from Brock Associates

USDA to Update 2013-2014 Forecasts

Tue, 07 May 2013 21:21:00 +0000

With Friday morning’s monthly USDA supply/demand update expected to show only minor adjustments in 2012-2013 estimates, the corn and soybean trade will focus on the agency’s first monthly estimates for 2013-2014.

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ACRE in 2013: Making Your Decision

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 21:19:00 +0000

The Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) was part of the 2008 Farm Bill and offers an alternative to the Direct and Counter-cyclical Program (DCP). The deadline for signup this year is June 3.

News from Brock Associates

Corn Planting Progress Limited

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 21:22:00 +0000

U.S. corn planting is progressing at the slowest rate in 20 years as producers were able to plant only 2% of their crop during the week ended Sunday due to cold, wet weather.

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Concerns About Chinese Soy Demand Grow

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:42:00 +0000

While last Wednesday’s USDA supply/demand report sparked renewed concerns about tight U.S. soybean stocks, ample world soybean stocks and rising worries about Chinese demand seem set to keep pressure on soybean prices.

News from Brock Associates

Higher USDA Carryout Estimates Expected

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:50:00 +0000

Higher-than-expected March 1 grain stocks have traders expecting USDA to raise its estimates of U.S. corn, soybean and wheat ending stocks for 2012-2013 in the monthly supply/demand update due out Wednesday morning.

News from Brock Associates

Competitive Advantage from Marketing, Selling Ahead

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 18:15:00 +0000

Buying crop revenue protection (RP) this year is a no-brainer on the heels of last year’s drought. But RP policies pay best when yields are reduced substantially and not so much when yields are about normal. That’s why marketing ahead is so crucial. Consider this simplified example.

News from Brock Associates

USDA Understating Soybean Exports?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:56:00 +0000

Friday’s USDA supply/demand report received a negative initial reception from the soybean market as it lowered South American production less than expected and left the U.S. soybean carryout unchanged, however, supply concerns have quickly reemerged with some questioning why USDA did not raise projected U.S. exports for 2012-2013 despite continued strong demand.

News from Brock Associates

Ag Secretary on Budget Cuts

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 20:33:00 +0000

In an eloquent speech at the Commodity Classic in Florida on Friday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack explained how the sequester will affect the USDA budget, the food supply and farmers.

News from Brock Associates

How USDA Figures Yields

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 21:47:00 +0000

In case you are among the many wondering why USDA would project such high trend-line corn and soybean yield estimates (163.6 and 44.5, respectively, for 2013), here’s an explanation from the Ag Forum in Washington today. They are based on weather-adjusted yield models that account for temperature and rainfall during the growing season.

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Seed Worries?

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:09:00 +0000

A new source of yield worries in 2013: Seed availability and quality. Seed company representatives say the 2012 seed crops turned out better than expected during the growing season and overall supplies should be adequate. However, some agronomists say there could be shortages of some high-demand corn varieties. In addition, the germination standard in some lots could be in the 80% range and flat seed may be in shorter supply while rounds are more plentiful.

News from Brock Associates

2013 to Bring Record Income Again

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 19:49:00 +0000

In its long-term projections released this morning, USDA’s Economic Research Service forecast farm income at a record $127.6 billion, up 15% as crop insurance payments add to income record commodity payments. They then see a drop to $96.9 billion in 2014 as corn, wheat and soybean prices fall dramatically and high production costs, up 12% in two years, eat into income.

News from Brock Associates

South American Soy Crop Uncertainty Grows

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 20:43:00 +0000

In addition to South American weather, the soybean market this week will be focusing on the next official estimate of Brazil’s crop and USDA’s monthly supply/demand outlook, which is due out on Friday. Brazilian soybean crop estimates, which had been generally on the rise during January have started to fall off due to erratic rains in some growing areas.