Grain and soybean futures continued to dominate market narrative Tuesday, blasting another leg higher, fueled by the Russian attack on Ukraine and the fallout from everything from export disruptions to financial turmoil.
Corn futures closed 30¢ to 42¢ higher in the front three contracts and the mostly 13¢ to 15¢ higher. Spot Mar was 80¢ higher over the last two sessions, closing Tuesday at a staggering $7.39’6
Soybean futures closed 41¢ to 61¢ higher in the front six contracts and then mostly 38¢ to 39¢ higher. The front two contracts are up more than $1.00 over the past two sessions.
Kansas City HRW futures closed 50¢ to 57¢ higher in the front five contracts; more than $1 higher in the front contracts over the last two sessions.
Those runaway feed futures prices hammered Cattle futures, especially Feeder Cattle once again. Feeder Cattle closed an average of $1.63 lower (65¢ to $2.55 lower) for an average of $4.14 lower over the last two sessions.
Live Cattle futures closed mixed, from an average of 54¢ lower in the front three contracts to an average of 19¢ higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from a standstill to mostly inactive on very light demand through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, live prices were $142/cwt. on a live basis in the Southern Plains, $142-$144 in Nebraska and $144 in the western Corn Belt. Dressed prices were $227 in Nebraska and $226-$227 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 83¢ lower Tuesday afternoon at $256.68/cwt. Select was $1.89 lower at $251.52.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed fled lower Tuesday with intensified concern surrounding the fallout from Russia’s military invasion in Eastern Europe.
The Down Jones Industrial Average closed 597 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 67 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 218 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) closed $2.09 to $7.69 higher through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment increased month to month in February, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer.
Specifically, the overall Ag Economy Barometer rose 6 points to 125. The Index of Current Conditions declined 1 point to 132. The Index of Future Expectations increased 10 points to 122.
Although the readings are static to positive, the Barometer’s Farm Financial Performance Index continues to underscore producer concerns about rising input costs. That index was unchanged in February, but declined 27% from late 2021 to 2022, indicating producers expect financial performance in 2022 to be worse than in 2021.
“These survey responses suggest that concerns about the spike in production costs and supply chain issues continue to mostly outweigh the impact of the commodity price rally that’s been underway this winter,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture.
Higher input costs have consistently been the number one concern identified by farmers over the past six months, according to results from the Ag Economy Barometer survey. In February, 47% of respondents cited input costs as their primary concern.
Tight machinery inventories continue to be a problem. In February, more than 40% of producers said low farm machinery inventories were holding back their investment plans. While plans for farm building and grain bin construction were more optimistic month to month, 56% said their plans for new construction were below the previous year.
The Ag Economy Barometer is calculated each month from 400 U.S. agricultural producers’ responses to a telephone survey. This month’s survey was conducted between February 14-18, 2022, days prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.