Spring will finally arrive this weekend! FYI The snow fall count on the robin tails were more than 3. I hope today’s low morning temperature will be the lowest for several months. Don’t want to hear anyone say it’s hot next week. Soil conditions should be good to get more field work done next week. Some dry fertilizer and NH3 has been spring applied. Corn and soybean seed is being delivered and picked up from the dealers. We where able to find some oats and got them cleaned and bagged. We also have our Buckingham Waterway mix on hand. Twin City Seeds is the new supplier of our grass seed. Last Friday’s March corn and bean stock figures were a little less than the trade was thinking. The planting guess was a little higher than everyone was expecting. Friday’s trade was a good way to end the month and 1st quarter. Our spring and summer weather forecasts will keep the volatility in the markets and determine how many acres of both corn and beans get planted. Another question will be how soon the snow pack in the upper Mid-West disappears and how it will affect the river levels. The big bean crop in Brazil will offset the production issues Argentina saw this year. Our window for bean exports isn’t open very far. Will China continue to buy our corn? If you want/need to sell grain move corn now and beans in June/July. A lot of truck and rail corn moved west and southwest since harvest. Mechanical break downs at the corn and bean processors made deliveries a challenge. We are still trying to get caught up on our sales. The Shell Rock Soy Processing plant is open. I’m pretty sure they’re still working on getting the plant up to speed and the bugs worked out. Market (futures) inverses and higher interest rates keep grain moving from the commercials (elevator). Ethanol margins are very good. Soybean crush remain strong. Livestock need to eat. Tomorrow is Good Friday and Easter is Sunday. The two most important days in the Christian faith. In my opinion! Have a safe spring planting season and a great Easter weekend. Bob |
