Key market movers to watch the week of July 15th

Jul 11, 2024

This week there are four key reports and weather to watch that could have significant impacts on commodity markets the week of July 15, 2024. This Farms.com column tracks key events in commodity marketing impacting the agriculture industry! The series of article shares issues to watch the following week, issues that may have an impact on commodity prices in the coming weeks.

By Devin Lashley
Farms.com Risk Management Intern

1. The USDA Cattle on Feed Report comes out Friday July 19^th and as of June 1^st, 2024, U.S. cattle and calves on feed for slaughter in large feedlots totaled 11.6 million, slightly below last year. May placements were 2.05 million, up 4 percent from 2023, with net placements at 1.98 million. This month's cattle on feed will likely show similar figures with cattle on feed down this year but still higher than last year's figures, demand has been spotty for U.S. cattle and the latest exports report has not done much to alleviate worries with cattle exports at a marketing year low.

2. The USDA Crop Progress Report comes out Monday July 15^th and will likely show crop conditions get better by 1-2 points after hurricane Beryl provided timely rains in July to some of the driest U.S. corn and soybean Eastern Corn Belt growing regions.

3. Keep an eye on the weather in Russia. For the last couple of weeks the weather in eastern Ukrainian and southern Russian growing regions has been abysmal, with very little rain and temperatures ranging from high 90s to low 100s degrees Fahrenheit has been battering the area, with very little room for plants to grow or pollinate correctly. If this trend continues it's likely we might see some reduction in the crop sizes so a worst-case scenario may not yet be priced in!

4. The USDA Drought Monitor Comes out Thursday July 18^th and will likely show a decrease in droughts across the Midwest and southern growing regions with a possibility for future expansion. Soil moisture should remain above average with no extreme heat to be found in the corn of the U.S. midwest corn belt.

5. In the next few weeks tech earning season is coming and AI is top of mind. It will dictate the direction on stocks and whether the AI craze has slowed down or accelerated even further.

For daily information and updates on agriculture commodity marketing and price risk management for North American farmers, producers, and agribusiness visit the Farms.com Risk Management Website to subscribe to the program.

Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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