USDA’s Grain Crushings Report Confirms Corn for Ethanol Is Down
Yesterday, February 4, the USDA released the monthly Grain Crushings products report for the month of November. Due to the government shutdown the report was scheduled for release in January.
The report was for November 2018 and showed that corn used in ethanol consumption was 504 MBU which was down 4% YoY and -1% from October.
At 5.314 million, CWT sorghum for ethanol use was higher for the month and has continued to increase. The sorghum for ethanol use was +83% YoY.
DDGS production at 1.93 million tones was -2% from October and -3% YoY. Wet DDG production was 1.31 million tones was -2% from October and -4%YoY.
What Does This Mean for U.S. Farmers? Given that the report was about ethanol production for November 2018 the data is stale and articulates what many farmers know. The decline in ethanol production has been felt by many as corn basis has softened in many areas. Sorghum use in southwest Kansas and northern Texas is not a surprise as local corn basis has been supported by a below trend corn crop which has resulted in a draw on corn regional stocks.
USDA Soybean Export Sales Announcement
Export sales of 2,603,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2018/2019 marketing year.
Export sales of 274,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2018/2019 marketing year.
Severe Winter Weather Forecast for Central Midwest Today
The National Weather Service has issued an ice storm warning for areas of E Iowa and parts of Illinois north of I-80.
A winter storm bringing freezing rain may cause ice accumulations of over ¼ inch over these parts of Iowa and Illinois, and even into NE Missouri.
The NWS has also issued a winter weather advisory for much of the state of Michigan as well, where snow and freezing rain are in the forecast and temperatures may dip as low as 5 degrees F.
The risk of trading futures, hedging, and speculating can be substantial. FBN BR LLC (NFA ID: 0508695)
