Large commodity investment firms, called managed money, added to their collective net long position in the week ended Tuesday but still keeping barely above a net short position, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Managed money’s net long position Tuesday was only 1,806 contracts, up 1,723, … Read More

Lower fed cattle prices resulted from packing plant closures as employees there increasingly succumbed to the Covid-19 virus, but how long it will last is the $64,000 question. Stephen Koontz, agricultural economist at Colorado State University, tackled this in the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s letter to Extension agents called In The Cattle Markets.  This is … Read More

Total US frozen red meat supplies on March 31 were down about 2% from the previous month but up about 7% from last year, but all of the decline was in pork supplies, according to Wednesday’s monthly Cold Storage report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. Total pounds of beef in US freezers were … Read More

The outlook for corn markets is becoming very hard to see.  Economists and market analysts can’t agree because too many things are in flux. Even the local café is closed so it’s not possible to gain insight from even the town know-it-all. All kidding aside, analysts say there are about three major things to watch … Read More

Various news organizations reported that about 23 state cattle organizations sent letters to US Attorney General William Barr Monday requesting a formal investigation seeing evidence of fraudulent business practices within the beef packing industry. The letters come in the midst of packing plant closures linked to rapid transmission of the Covid-19 coronavirus among plant employees … Read More

Large commodity index funds, called managed money, edged back into net long territory during the week ended Tuesday but not by much, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The new net long position by managed money as of Tuesday amounted to 83,000 contracts, compared with a net … Read More

Although lending activity remained elevated, total first-quarter new farm loan originations declined, according to data collected in early February by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. The total volume of non-real estate loans remained above the historical average, but were about 10% lower than a year ago, the bank said. However, growth in operating … Read More