Good Morning,

The corn market is trying to rebound from yesterday’s profit taking with nearby futures up 5 and deferred up 3-4.
USDA Ag Sec Perdue announced the agency is authorized up to $12 billion in programs to assist US farmers disrupted by tariffs. The program is expected to begin around Labor Day; USDA stresses this is a short-term program until trade deal can be made. USDA will use 3 programs to assist farmers; 1) Market Facilitation Program, authorized under the CCC and administered by FSA, will provide payments incrementally to producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs; this is direct payment to producer, after they’ve sign-up with local FSA county office. 2) Food Purchase and Distribution Program through Agricultural Marketing Service to purchase unexpected surplus of affected commodities such as fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork and milk for distribution to food banks and nutritional programs. 3) Trade Promotion Program administered by Foreign Agriculture Service to assist in developing new export markets for farm products. Press conference revealed that soybeans would be largest recipient of program $. Unfortunately the financial break-down, the duration, & how each program is administered is not available yet. This is not a sustainable long term solution, but will buy producers time as the US and China try to work out their differences.
The EU and GFS models are in fair agreement over the 10-day forecast as they call for a broad ridge/trough pattern to continue across N. America into the beginning of August. The weather pattern is expected to bring cooler temperatures and below normal rainfall. Areas of acute dryness continue to pop up throughout the Corn Belt that will be a drag on corn and bean yields. The latest Vegetative Health Index maps showed marked improvement as they now point to yield potential closer to 176 to 178 bushels per acre as a nationwide average. With each passing day now it looks as though the 2018 corn crop will be a good, but not a great and with what is going on with wheat the corn will surely follow.
Producers with old crop corn and soybeans to move should take advantage of this short rally to make sales. The announcement has done nothing to change the supply and demand picture for the time being and if/when it does, it will only affect new crop.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard
920-348-6844
ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

Corn ratings came in unchanged yesterday afternoon for the US at 72% G/E. Silking was 81% vs the 5 year average of 62% and dough stage was also ahead of normal at 18% compared to 8% for the 5 year average. Wisconsin was rated at 83% G/E which is up 1% from last week. Silking in WI was 53% vs the 5 year average of 35% while dough was unrated. We are too late in the season for crop ratings to deteriorate enough to move the market higher. This weeks report has traders anticipating not only a larger harvest, but an earlier one as well. The rapid maturity of this crop is most likely going to keep any late season market rally at a minimum.
Other morning highlights:
• The new EPA administrator, Andrew Wheeler, will make an announcement today concerning sorghum in the RFS
• The USDA announced a cancellation of 165 mt sale of soyobeans to China
• Weather was favorable across all Crop Watch 2018 fields last week with some rain showers and milder temperatures, and some of the corn and soybeans are already responding to the better growing conditions.

After closing higher for the previous 6 sessions, corn looks to reverse direction today with the markets down 6 on the open.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard
920-348-6844
ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

Favorable rains locally over the weekend have the crops looking very good in our area as we work thru the crucial pollination and development stage. The extended 6-10 day and 8-14 day forecast looks drier with temps above normal for the Corn Belt. The driest areas could be the Dakotas, MN, WI and northern IL.
Friday’s cattle on feed report showed 11.3 million head in large feedlots, the largest number since records started in 1996. This is 4% more than a year ago. June placements came in at 101.3% of last year while marketing’s came in 100.9% of last year.

The markets are slightly higher this morning with corn up 1 and soybeans up 3. Will the funds start buying in an attempt to extend last week’s rally in the markets? Demand remains strong, but political pressure will keep the markets in check for some time. This afternoon’s crop conditions report should show a slight decline in crop conditions, but traders will likely wait for the USDA’s August production forecast before confirming a bottom is in place.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard
920-348-6844
ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

Nice rains falling across the state overnight and this morning that will maintain or increase the size of this years crop. Most of our producers have said that their corn has tasseled or will be in the next week. This rain along with favorable temperatures will ease any concerns that may have existed. Current weather and forecasts for the majority of the Midwest growing areas appears to be the same with Northern Missouri and a small area in Southern Iowa being the only major areas with moisture concern.(see map below)

President Trump continues to “poke the bear” as he said he is willing to impose $505 billion worth of tariffs on China if they continue to retaliate to his requests. This tariff would represent the total value of American imports from China. US trade officials have said that their main trade focus is getting NAFTA 2.0 completed by the end of the year.

While trade talks and tariffs with China are the main headline, there are several other countries with tariffs and trade issues with the US. Yesterday’s export sales report did show a cancellation of EU corn sales which is believed to be related to the 25% tariff on US imports. No one knows if or when these issues will get resolved. Regardless of the timeline, we should not expect an immediate rebound in the markets when things get worked out. Producers need to find a way to cover their operating costs with the current price structure.

Have a Safe Weekend!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

The markets have moved sideways the last 3 days with trade war news and weather both uneventful this week. While there are no formal meetings scheduled between the US and China to discuss trade issues, the US and Mexican officials have agreed to expedite negotiations in order to reach a preliminary deal by late August.

Old crop weekly exports were better than last week in corn and soybeans but both were below their ten week average. New crop exports were strong with corn at 30.5 million bu. and soybeans at 22.5 million bu.

The US Midwest weather has rain and temperatures running slightly below average into the weekend which will aid in pollination and filling of kernels. The 11-16 day forecast has average temperatures and close to average rainfall for the Midwest.

I look for the markets to continue their sideways pattern as traders wait on any news from the political front and continue to monitor what effects the recent heat wave may have had on the crop size.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss some special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com