Top 5 Things to Watch

DTN Staff

OMAHA (DTN) -- Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for the week of Jan. 22. Watch for coverage of these and other topics through the week on our subscription platforms as well as on DTNPF.com.

1. Altered reality of wheat. As DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman discussed in Friday's Todd's Take, there's a growing disconnect between supply and demand forces and the actual price of wheat. With continued low soil moisture in major parts of the U.S. breadbasket, continued war in the Black Sea area, and already low wheat stocks, Hultman expects current $7-$8 cash wheat prices (based on DTN's national cash index) to get a reality check at some point. You can read his thoughts on that here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Watch for signs of those reality checks coming.

2. Clipper blockers hang in there, for now. Our weather team is watching two trough systems work their way through Texas to the Northeast, bringing additional moisture to the central and eastern portions of the country. Depending on where your farm is, the first of those systems might be there as you read this. The second should be right behind it early in the week. Both include a band of snow, so winter is far from gone. But for some time now frigid cold weather has been absent. Unfortunately, chances for the next arctic blast will probably come late next week as the pattern allows cold air to come down from Canada. Time to get livestock ready for the switch, and we have some ways to help that with DTN Staff Reporter Russ Quinn's story on windbreaks, which you can find here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

As always, you can find regular in-depth weather updates in our Ag Weather Forum Blog here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

3. Fueling around: Deep winter can be time to refill fuel tanks drained by the last of harvest, but global diesel market conditions have put the squeeze on those plans. DTN Ag Business Editor Katie Dehlinger will gather the latest experts' thoughts on near- to medium-term fuel prices. Watch for her story by mid-week.

4. Laws and orders: We'll be watching a number of courtroom-related actions this week. These include the latest on a number of suits filed against the EPA over waters of the United States (WOTUS) regulations. The meat packing industry also will likely be in the courtroom news. Watch for stories on the complaint filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that meat packer JBS isn't meeting carbon emissions goals.

We'll also be looking into the recent mass of advertisements on social media platforms for cattlemen to join the price-fixing suits against Big Four meat packers. R-CALF USA filed the first suit in 2019, and the number of groups and food companies filing similar claims against the packers has grown in recent months. Along with that, advertisements from law firms offering to represent producers in any class action settlements are popping up like volunteer wheat after a grain cart spill. Legal experts say producers should not need representation; we'll get into the details.

5. Winter meetings pick up: We'll have DTN staff at several events this week. DTN Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton will be in Kansas, looking in to the growing town versus farm water availability issues, and also attending the No-Till on The Plains Winter Conference, Jan. 23-25 in Wichita. Watch for his reporting from the Sunflower State. DTN Lead Analyst Todd Hultman will be at the Sioux Falls Farm Show in South Dakota, giving his latest market outlook on Jan. 25-27.

For more markets-related events that DTN will be watching and reporting on, see Hultman's "What DTN is Watching" section found elsewhere on DTN digital platforms.

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