UnitedSoybean

Strong week for corn export sales

 USDA reports corn and soybean oil sales for the week ending February 3 were larger than expected while soybeans, soybean meal and wheat fell within expectations. Physical shipments of soybeans were above what’s needed every week to meet USDA projections for the 2010/11 marketing year but corn and wheat were below their respective marks.

Old crop soybeans were a marketing year low at 20,800 tons (800,000 bushels). That’s a 98% drop from the week before and a 97% decline from the four week average. Japan was the top buyer at 135,000 tons but China canceled on 261,700 tons. So far this marketing year, soybean sales are 1.410 billion bushels, compared to 1.293 billion this time last year.

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Chairman Lucas wants your help

As work begins on the writing of the 2012 Farm Bill, House Agriculture Committee Chairman, Frank Lucas of Oklahoma wants your help. The Chairman says that for those living in rural America, whether you’re involved in production agriculture, processing or transportation, he’s hoping you’ll become citizen activists and help him by reaching out to members of Congress.

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Chinese government prepares for potential wheat loss

 Earlier this week, the Chinese State Council established a ten point plan which includes a pledge to financially help farmers plant wheat and corn, treat diseases, irrigate wheat and create a fund of $180 million to purchase equipment and $1 million dollars for drought relief across the country. According to the Wall Street Journal, the drought in China could cause a weak wheat crop creating a global food inflation scare.

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RFA questions ethanol use numbers

 Renewable Fuels Association president Bob Dineen says USDA may be overestimating the amount of corn for ethanol use. USDA is projecting 13.7 billion gallons of ethanol production for this crop year which would be 1.1 billion above the Renewable Fuels Standard for the year.

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USDA makes bigger than expected cut to corn ending stocks

USDA made a bigger than expected cut to U.S. corn ending stocks while leaving wheat and soybeans unchanged.

USDA has 2010/11 U.S. corn carryout at 675 million bushels, down 70 million on the month following upward adjustments to the food, seed and industrial use and ethanol use projections.

There were no changes to the domestic balance sheets for either wheat or beans.

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USGC declares “Year of Competitiveness”

Terry Vinduska, a Kansas corn farmer and Chairman of the USGC, says there’s major new activity in India and China. They anticipate up to 590 million bushels of US corn will be imported by China in the next 15 years.

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Drought threatens China’s winter wheat

Drought is causing concern for the winter wheat crop in five northern provinces of China. The United Nations confirms what Beijing has been warning about that dry conditions are affecting an area that produces two-thirds of the Chinese wheat crop.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization says Chinese wheat flour prices are 16 percent higher than a year ago and increased 8 percent in just the last two months.

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Good week for soybean, corn export inspections

Soybeans and wheat for the week ending February 3 were larger than expected while corn was toward the high end of estimates. Inspections of soybeans and corn both topped what’s needed weekly to meet USDA projections for the 2010/11 marketing year but wheat fell short of its mark.

Soybeans were pegged at 41.336 million bushels, 1.441 million less than the prior week and 675,000 below last year. At this point in the marketing year, soybean inspections are 1.019 billion bushels, compared to 989.995 million a year ago.

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Analysts expect tighter U.S. ending stocks

The average estimate for corn stocks is 736 million bushels, down 9 million on the month, soybeans are pegged at 135 million bushels which would be a 5 million bushel reduction, and wheat stocks are seen at 810 million bushels, down 8 million bushels from January.

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Mato Grosso not unlike Illinois

The Illinois soybean growers traveling in Brazil commented during they’re stay in Mato Grosso state that the lay of the land reminded them of their home state. That was before they landed in Brazil’s more southerly state of Parana.

Although the team representing the Illinois Soybean Association feels that they have much in common with those Parana farmers who own and work their land, one Illinois grower remarked after visiting farms in both areas of Brazil, “Whether farming in the U.S. or in Brazil, we all just want to be successful and feed the world.”

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