January 15, 2010

Good afternoon bloggers! The good news for today is that the Chicago Blackhawks are on track for winning Lord Stanley’s Cup and it was on this day in 1777 the state of Vermont declared its independence from Great Britain.

Today we witnessed an already bearish market take another hit following Tuesday’s USDA report. March corn futures were down 9.5 cents and finished the day at $3.71. Beans finished 10 cents under at $9.74. Farmers in both N. America and S. America are now facing a market down over 50 cents from Monday. The lack of selling and movement within the pipeline has caused for end user demand to increase. Elburn Coop Morris Terminal has seen a corn basis increase of 25 cents which shows us a growing demand. Not only has the local basis strengthened significantly over the past 15 days, but New Orleans has corn basis is at 43 cents over while beans have remained unchanged. Estimates show no expansion of US soybean acreage for next year, but show increased S. American stock which may be burdensome for next year US stock.

Logistics will be crucial for farmers and elevators in the near future. We have been hearing through the grapevine about corn quality. Reports from certain regions of the country are having issues with open ground piles that have been exposed to snow and precipitation. The US Southeast will be receiving rain from the Delta region as well as rain hitting the Tennessee Valley. The Midwest will be fairly dry except for Kentucky receiving a little rain on Sunday. Illinois is forecasted to be relatively mild over the weekend with possibilities of receiving some precipitation late next week. Just as a friendly reminder, markets will be closed Sunday and Monday, opening again Monday night in observance of Martin Luther King Day.