Elaine Kub

Wheat conditions highlight the "haves" and "have-nots" across America's crop fields this spring, with luscious green fields in the Midwest but very poor development in the drought-stricken West and High Plains.

Since 1984, USDA has kept meticulous metadata about price reactions in agricultural markets after certain government report releases. This should reassure market participants there is no predictable pattern in market reactions.

Past examples of wild old-crop-to-new-crop corn futures spreads make speculation tempting, but there are few other ways for a farmer, who's sold out of old-crop grain, to take advantage of the hot near-term prices.

Before much is known about an upcoming row crop growing season, new-crop futures prices for corn tend to be less than $4, and for soybeans, less than $10 per bushel. But already for 2021, cognitive biases may be at work...

Eager buying interest is still present for lean hog futures at fresh contract highs Friday morning, and the cattle contracts are higher too.

The weekly export-sales report was generally disappointing for the beef and pork markets, but live cattle and lean hog futures traders have largely shrugged it off in favor of a mixed open.

Lean hog futures are still attracting enough buying interest to set fresh contract highs Wednesday morning, but cattle futures are moderately lower.

Chinese celebrations of the Lunar New Year will be different in 2021, with widespread travel discouraged and implications for the grain markets uncertain.

Livestock futures have started Tuesday morning mostly lower in anticipation of volatility in the feed grains sector, but there may be enough bullish momentum on the charts, and supportive fundamentals from meat prices, to prevent...

Monday morning live cattle futures are mixed, feeder cattle futures lower and lean hog futures are already setting new contract highs.

Confident buyers of lean hog futures were still present at the open Friday morning, but live cattle and feeder cattle futures seem to be pulling back from past gains.

Bullish export sales emphasized the bullish underpinnings of the pork market, and thus, the support this week for lean hog futures.

Futures traders have been eager buyers in the livestock sector so far Wednesday morning, led by the rallying lean hog futures exploring fresh contract highs.

With enough planning and motivation, a group of internet commenters probably could influence the price of oat futures up or down for a while, but they likely can't get enough access to the most vulnerable markets in large enough...

The packing industry continues to bring through large daily numbers of both hogs (495,000 projected Tuesday) and cattle (119,000 projected Tuesday), and find supportive prices for the pork and beef.

The implications from a bullish Cattle Inventory report, released Friday afternoon, are giving cattle futures traders a reason not to follow the steep losses seen at the end of last week's trade.

Traders of livestock futures are maintaining a cautious tone Friday morning, refusing to stick their necks out for either more erosion in prices or any serious attempt at regaining the highs from the start of the week.

More so than most years, pre-harvest hedging activity in the early months of the year will likely be influenced by fears and uncertainties regarding yield prospects in dry areas of the country.

The U.S. has been using up soybeans at a blazing pace since harvest, but soybean disappearance commonly slows down through the winter, spring and summer months -- especially as the market looks forward to South American supplies.