Corn futures closed sharply higher and Soybean futures closed sharply lower Thursday, all fueled by the Prospective Plantings and quarterly Grain Stock reports from USDA (see below).
Corn futures closed 20¢ to 27¢ higher in new-crop contracts.
Soybean futures closed 36¢ to 49¢ lower through Sep ‘23 and then 23¢ to 27¢ lower.
The sharp bounce higher in Corn futures helped push Feeder Cattle futures an average of $2.25 lower, except for 7¢ lower in expiring Mar.
Sharply lower outside markets helped pressure Live Cattle an average of 49¢ lower, except for unchanged in away Apr.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was slow to moderate on good demand in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Live prices were steady to $2 higher than last week in Nebraska at $138-$140/cwt. Dressed prices were $1 higher at $222.
In the western Corn Belt, live prices were $1-$2 higher at $140-$143. Dressed prices there last week were $221-$225.
So far this week, live prices are steady in the Southern Plains at $138.
Choice Boxed beef cutout value was $1.35 higher Thursday afternoon at $268.39/cwt. Select was $4.88 higher at $262.34.
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Major U.S. financial indices sank Thursday, with the end of the month and quarter, and as 2-year and 10-year Treasury yields inverted, which some view as signal of coming recession.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 550 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 72 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 221 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME closed $4.26 to $7.54 lower through the front six contracts.
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USDA’s Prospective Plantings report drove grain markets Thursday with significantly fewer corn acres than many expected and significantly more soybean acres.
Corn planted area for all purposes in 2022 was estimated at 89.5 million acres, down 4% or 3.87 million acres from last year. Planted acreage is expected to be down or unchanged in 43 of the 48 estimating States.
Corn stocks in all positions on March 1, of 7.85 billion bu. were 2% more than a year earlier, according to USDA’s quarterly Grain Stocks report. Of the total stocks, 4.08 billion bu. were stored on farms, up 1% from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks of 3.77 billion were 3% more than the previous year.
Soybean planted area for 2022 was estimated at a record 91.0 million acres, up 4% from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is up or unchanged in 24 of the 29 estimating States.
Soybeans stored in all positions on March 1 totaled 1.93 billion bu., up 24% year over year. Soybean stocks stored on farms were estimated at 750 million bu., up 26% from a year ago. Projected off-farm stocks of 1.18 billion bu. were 22% more than last March.
All wheat planted area for 2022 was estimated at 47.4 million acres, up 1% from 2021. If realized, this represents the fifth lowest all wheat planted area since records began in 1919.
All wheat stored in all positions March 1 totaled 1.02 billion bu., down 22% from a year earlier. On-farm stocks were estimated at 174 million bu., down 39% from last March. Off-farm stocks of 850 million bushels were 17% less.
All hay harvested area this year is projected at 50.33 million acres, which would be 404,000 fewer acres than last year.