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. 13. Note that Monday is a federal holiday in the U.S. and in Canada, which will alter some market report releases, but major futures markets remain open. Watch for coverage of these and other topics through the week on our subscription platforms as well as on www.DTNPF.com.

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

1 -- Hurricanes and fires: We're into week three of coverage of the hurricanes that have hit the Southeast and Florida. Livestock producers, cotton farmers and specialty-crop growers are not only suffering personal losses but farm losses as well. We are also watching the many wildfires fires popping up in dry areas of the Plains and eastern Rocky Mountain states. For the latest on the fire danger, see our Ag Weather Forum blog here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

2 -- Wheat takes center stage: We're watching wheat markets (see the International weather item in No. 4 below) as well as general response to the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. Cattle markets also deserve watching. Find our latest cattle coverage, including hurricane recovery pieces, here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

3 -- Cool burst ahead: Overall temperatures are forecast to remain higher than normal, but we will see a brief cooldown early in the week. It will remain dry for much of the country, good for grain harvest but worrisome for emerging wheat and for dry fall pastures. We're also expecting a drop in the Mississippi River levels, which rose after Hurricane Helene's rainstorms. We could see barge issues again on the lower portions of the river as harvest continues.

4 -- International weather: Conditions are also dry elsewhere in the world. The Black Sea region remains unseasonably dry, hampering wheat growth, just as frosts and freezes take over the region. Eastern Ukraine and Western Russia have been very dry for many months. Wheat areas of southeast Australia are also dry, a combination that has activated wheat markets to some extent.

5 -- Weekly economic reports: Monday is the Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples holiday in the U.S., as well as Thanksgiving holiday in Canada. Some businesses, banks and government offices are closed and several market reports bumped to Tuesday. Commodity markets and futures markets remain open, though U.S. Treasury and bond markets are closed. Tuesday we play catch-up, with 10 a.m. Grain Inspections numbers and 3 p.m. USDA NASS weekly Crop Progress reports that normally appear Monday. Tuesday will also see the 7:30 a.m. release of the Empire State Manufacturing Survey, the 11 a.m. Feed Grains Database reports, and the 2 p.m. Wheat Data numbers from ERS. Wednesday starts with 7:30 a.m. release of Imports and Exports and Import Price Index figures, at 9:30 a.m. we'll see the EIA weekly petroleum status report, including ethanol production and stocks. At 11 a.m. is Oil Crops Outlook, then at 2 p.m. comes Broiler and Turkey Hatchery reports and the Feed and Wheat Outlook. Thursday is a busy morning with Initial Jobless Claims and U.S. Retail Sales numbers all out at 7:30 a.m. At 8:15 a.m. is Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization figures, followed by 9 a.m. release of Business Inventories and Home Builder Confidence Index, and the Specialty Crops report at 11 a.m. Friday at 7:30 a.m. is Grain Export Sales (bumped from its usual Thursday slot) Housing Starts and Building Permits, with 2:30 p.m. release of the CFTC's Commitment of Traders report.

Bonus DTN content: In the latest Field Posts podcast, hosted by Sarah Mock, DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart talks about the last couple months, pointing out key features of the feeder and cash cattle markets as she encourages hesitant producers to invest in price protection at current, historically high prices. Then she digs into the fundamentals, talks about the outlook for herd size and the state of the bred cattle market. Stewart offers insight further up the supply chain as well, looking to slaughter pace and carcass weight figures to shed light on what's going on with packers and what that might mean for consumer and export demand as winter approaches. She'll also talk through the winter feed outlook, check in on the bird flu story, and share the latest from her family's Wyoming ranch.

You can listen to this and other Field Posts podcasts at https://www.dtnpf.com/…, https://www.buzzsprout.com/… and they're also available on podcast hosting sites such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch for the latest news at www.dtnpf.com, and follow and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dtnprogressivefarmer. You can find our news on Instagram as well. Give us a follow @dtn.agnews

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