Ethanol use, and the corn needed to make it, isn’t growing like it once did, and corn and ethanol producers are concerned. With the vast majority of US domestic demand for ethanol in the form of E10 gasoline blends, growth in domestic ethanol use is tied directly to growth in the overall consumption of gasoline, … Read More

Despite a slight decline in the total number of loans reported by agricultural bankers, farm lending continued to increase in the first quarter of 2019, said Kansas City Federal Reserve Economists Cortney Cowley and Ty Kreitman in a Bank release. The growth in loan volumes primarily was because of additional increases in the average size … Read More

Total red meat supplies in US freezers on March 31 were down 3% from Feb. 28 and down 2% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its monthly Cold Storage report Monday. Total frozen poultry supplies at the end of March were down 1% from February and down 2% from a … Read More

US red meat exports in February fell below last year’s levels, according to USDA/Economic Research Service and Foreign Agriculture Service data compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. Ongoing trade disputes were blamed for pork’s headwinds, but USMEF CEO Dan Halstrom said in a USMEF release that US/Japan trade talks were something to be encouraged … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, known as managed money, again increased their collective net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday as hedgers increased their net short position. Both moves were a continuation of trends that began the week ended Nov. 27.  The data was released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday … Read More

Feeder cattle futures may be presenting producers with a hedging opportunity, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, in the Cow/Calf Corner, a letter sent to Oklahoma Extension agents. With generally good summer forage prospects, stocker cattle demand remains strong, Peel said.  Lightweight feeder cattle prices have yet to confirm a seasonal … Read More

Among the data from the USDA’s Economic Research Service are projections for reduced feed use this year, contributing to forecasts for higher ending stocks than were expected before the last Crop Production report. Reduced US corn export prospects because of higher production and shipments from other countries and lower expectations for ethanol production were covered … Read More