This week saw a rise in grain and soybean contracts followed by a decline on ‘profit taking’ in managed money accounts. DEC Corn rose to a little over $4.70 on Monday and has traded below that level for the rest of the week. USDA Crop Progress on Monday finally had corn plantings at 92% which is still behind average planting pace, but is the first week to rise above 90% for the 2019 crop year. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 6/20/19
High Plains Ag Week 5/31/19
Written with: David Anderson
Corn: The shortened week following Memorial day saw continued growth in grains and cotton with declines in the nearby live and feeder contracts. In the last three weeks DEC Corn ($4.326/bu) has climbed almost 20.0% on significant planting delays, particularly in the Midwest. As of May 26 the Crop Progress report has Texas at 93.0% complete in corn plantings, although I’ve heard of some delays in our northeastern counties. The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension budgets for District 1 estimate a break even price for irrigated corn of $4.01. Given the increasingly uncertain trade environment (more on the newly proposed tariffs on Mexican products later), and the stage of production for the year, this might be a good opportunity to protect production with some puts or another form of risk management. [Read more…] about High Plains Ag Week 5/31/19