Top 5 Things to Watch

By DTN Staff

OMAHA (DTN) -- Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for the week of Oct. 12. Watch for coverage of these and other topics throughout the week on our subscription platforms as well as on www.DTNPF.com.

Note that all report release and webinar times are Central Daylight Savings Time unless otherwise noted.

1. No support details: Oct. 7 came and went, and the Harvest Moon shed no light on promised details of farm support payments. Ag groups and individual farmers continue to call for help with low grain prices and high input costs, partially because of the tariff taxes that the Trump Administration and supporters have called for. We're tracking the latest signals, if any, from Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins.

2. Another round of showers: A new front is forecast to move into the Corn Belt Sunday and Monday and will likely stall into next week, which could mean more rain for some areas, especially west. Central and southern Plains could see lower temps and scattered showers. Rains may give a brief surge of water into the Mississippi River system, but drier weather afterward points to lower river levels and potentially draft restrictions on barges, slowing up the movement of this fall's big grain harvests.

3. South American weather promising: A front in southern Brazil produced showers this past week, favorable for planting and early growth. Central Brazil had been drier during the past two weeks, though showers are starting to fill in across the region and are forecast to be widespread starting on Friday and continuing thereafter. That should be supportive of soybeans going forward. Likewise, Argentina has good soil moisture conditions for early corn planting, and soybean planting will kick in soon as nighttime temperatures increase. Though there is a risk of hotter and drier weather this season because of the developing La Nina, conditions are favorable thus far.

4. TEPAP deadline approaches: DTN has long been a supporter of The Executive Program for Agricultural Producers, or TEPAP. This week-long business bootcamp, designed to help farmers and ranchers think creatively about farm finance, family business governance, human resources, sales, negotiations and other critical business subjects, will be Jan. 3-10 at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio, Texas. Application deadline is Oct. 31 or until spaces are filled. Some scholarships are also available. You can find all of the details on the schedule, registration and more here: https://tepap.tamu.edu/…

5. Reports due this week: There were no ag or economic reports scheduled for Monday due to the Columbus Day government holiday. Beyond that, here are the reports scheduled, though if the government shutdown continues, some may not be released as planned. Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Core CPI. At 9:30 a.m. EIA's weekly petroleum status report, including ethanol production and stocks, is due. Thursday at 7:30 a.m. U.S. Retail Sales, Producer Price Index (PPI) and Core PPI, and Initial Jobless Claims data is scheduled. At 9 a.m. Business Inventories and Home Builder Confidence Index are due. At 10:30 a.m. Weekly Economic Index is scheduled. Friday at 7:30 a.m. the Grain Export Sales, Housing Starts, Building Permits and Imports and Exports are due. NOTE: Grain export numbers were released last week, despite the shutdown. At 8:15 a.m. Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization is due. At 2:30 p.m. we may have CFTC's Commitment of Traders report (again, depending on shutdown).

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