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 July 23. Watch for coverage of these and other topics through the week on our subscription platforms as well as on DTNPF.com.

1. Missiles Fall, Temperatures Climb: The drivers in grain markets short-term are the oncoming heat (see below) and Vladimir Putin's ongoing onslaught of Ukraine grain ports. That puts pressure on overland movement of grain out of Ukraine through neighboring countries, and the storage backlog will eventually influence how much farmers there can plant. For our most recent update on Ukraine, see Lead Analyst Todd Hultman's Todd's Take: https://www.dtnpf.com/…, and Ag Policy Editor Chris Clayton's look at Ukraine challenges at https://www.dtnpf.com/….

2. Weather Patterns Quiet, Hot: Recent rain systems, and the active weather pattern that spawned them, have improved soil moisture conditions in a lot of areas. But the patterns, they are a changing, says our Ag Meteorologist John Baranick. A high-pressure dome and less active patterns will bring heat and dryness. The critical question is did rains bring enough soil moisture reserves to help crops get through the coming heat, which could generally last through the end of July and into August? There is a lot of pollination, grain fill and pod set going on as things heat up. Baranick notes the predicted conditions are pushing the boundaries of current weather models; some have spit out temperature possibilities above 110 Fahrenheit in the western and central Corn Belt. It's unlikely temps will get that high in any sustained way, Baranick adds, but it will be unpleasant. Stay hydrated, take breaks out of the sun and heat, and pay special attention to livestock and those that can't take care of themselves. For our latest thoughts on weather and markets, see the In The News video here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

3. Spring Wheat Tour: We'll have daily coverage of the 2023 Hard Spring Wheat and Durum Tour. DTN Crops Editor Jason Jenkins will be on the tour, with his reports starting Tuesday evening. This year's tour, sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council, will cover North Dakota and Western Minnesota. It will not include South Dakota due to low wheat acres there. Final yield predictions will be out mid-day Thursday.

4. Preparing for 2023 DTN Digital Yield Tour: The sixth DTN Digital Yield Tour, powered by Gro Intelligence, kicks off Aug. 7. In the weeks ahead, DTN reporters and editors will be out gathering on-the-ground information on crop conditions as we prepare to learn where Gro's satellite-driven yield models put the 2023 crop. This year we'll also get additional dirty-boots data from our friends at Farmers Independent Research of Seed Technologies, or FIRST. For more information on the tour, see the 2022 resource page here: https://spotlights.dtnpf.com/….

For background on Gro, see: https://www.gro-intelligence.com/…

For more info on FIRST, see: https://www.firstseedtests.com/…

5. Economic News This Week: We'll cover the latest USDA Crop Progress reports, hitting Monday afternoon. Wednesday will see news on latest U.S. new homes sales out at 9 a.m. CDT, followed by the Energy Department's weekly energy inventories at 9:30 a.m. The latest Federal Reserve announcement is scheduled at 1 p.m., followed by a press conference with Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. Thursday sees USDA's weekly export sales report, U.S. weekly jobless claims, durable goods orders for June and an update of the U.S. Drought Monitor, all due at 7:30 a.m. The U.S. Energy Department's natural gas report follows at 9:30 a.m. Friday brings a collection of reports to help gauge inflation: At 7:30 a.m. we'll see the U.S. index of personal consumption expenditures for June, the report on U.S. personal incomes and consumer spending for June and the Labor Department's employment cost index for the second quarter. The University of Michigan's index of consumer sentiment for July hits at 9 a.m.

Be sure and watch for the latest news at www.dtnpf.com, and follow and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dtnprogressivefarmer.

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