The USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service in Beijing, China, Wednesday increased its estimate of China’s Marketing Year 2023/24 corn production by 4.2% from last year to 288.8 million tonnes because of greater planted area and higher yields. The new information came in a Global Agricultural Information Network report from the FAS.   MORE ACRES   Yield … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on Dec. 31 were up about 4% from the previous month but down about 9% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its monthly Cold Storage report Wednesday. Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 4% from the previous month and up slightly from a … Read More

Canadian feedlots had an estimated 1.093 million head on feed as of Jan. 1, slightly more than at the same time in 2023 and more than the 2018-2022 average, according to CanFax, a private market advisory group. CanFax gathers its information from member feedlots in Alberta and Saskatchewan and passes on the data for totals … Read More

Although the USDA’s, National Agricultural Statistics Service’s commercial slaughter estimates for December aren’t scheduled for publication until later this month, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service has published Actual Slaughter Under Federal Inspection through the end of the year, which allows for year-to-year comparison. The USDA’s Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook from Friday said in 2023, … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, continued selling live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday as cattle owners continues covering short positions. The information was derived from the weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday published by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.   FUNDS SELL CATTLE   Tuesday, managed money had a collective … Read More

New non-real estate farm lending activity at commercial banks continued to decline in the fourth quarter, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economists Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman said in a Bank publication Thursday. According to the Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers, the volume of new non-real estate farm loans was about 15% … Read More

Wednesday, the Federal Reserve published its latest Beige Book, saying most of the 12 Federal Reserve districts reported little or no change in economic activity since the previous publication in December. The Federal Reserve publishes the Beige Book eight times a year, reporting economic activity in each district plus a summary.   OVERALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY … Read More