Blog Archives
-
Corn and Soybean Basis Weakens Off of Highs
- Thursday March 7, 2013
Corn and soybean basis posted weaker values across the country this week as buyers rolled out of March into the severely discounted May contracts this week. On average, spot corn and bean basis posted a 5-cent per bushel loss on the week. Corn basis continues to run exceptionally high for this time of year as pipeline supplies remain modest. An uptick in potential export business gave futures traders some enthusiasm this week which helped lift the market. At the Gulf, corn basis bucked the overall trend with a 2-cent gain, while ethanol plants as a group were off 5 cents a bushel. For soybeans, basis levels continue to be pressured as the looming South American bumper crop is expected to cool the red-hot export business of the past 6... -
Dispatches From the GEAPS Exchange
By Arlette Sambs - Wednesday February 27, 2013
GEAPS is, and rightfully so, proud of it’s 2013 Exchange in Louisville this week, pointing out that it’s the largest event ever. This is my 29th GEAPS. After 29 years we’re supposed to have earned and learned from great experiences, which gives us the right to provide a bit of perspective. Here’s mine: First, the industry always represents and reflects progress. Perhaps whether we like it or not. The mergers and consolidations we’ve all seen — from farms to feed mills to co-ops — bring some pain. But it also brings progress, builds scale and often improves our opportunity to innovate, to add services and continue growing. Second, highlighted by the attendance we’ve seen at many sessions here in Louisville, people... -
Bean Basis Softens on Price Rally
By Cody Bills - Monday February 25, 2013
Soybean basis lost one-cent a bushel on average across the country this week, while corn basis managed to post a modest one-cent gain for the week. Gains in corn basis were most notably tied to ethanol plants, which saw a 2-cent gain over the last week. Ethanol margins continue to improve off their lows from the start of the year as ethanol prices have firmed and corn prices have eased off. At the Gulf, corn basis was unchanged and limited changes occurred along river terminals as barge rates were mostly stable. For beans, basis levels were off 1-cent a bushel across the country this week. Soybean crushing plants were lower by 2-cents a bushel, while some processors in the Eastern Cornbelt were off 5 to 10-cents on the week. River... -
Track Your Trucks
- Friday February 22, 2013Wouldn’t it be nice if you could look at your mobile device or fire up your computer and determine where your grain trucks are located, who is driving, time spent at each delivery and when it’s time for servicing? Fleet management services are quickly becoming a common tool for managing agricultural businesses both large and small. There are numerous GPS devices and mobile technologies that have been developed in recent years that have made this service affordable for managing your vehicles, trucks, tractors & other motorized equipment. Imagine logging into GPS Insight account via any computer and evaluating such things as: Fuel Costs - determine wasteful idling, excessive speeding; efficiency of driving routes or unauthorized... -
Weakening Gulf Basis Weighs on Soybeans
By Cody Bills - Friday February 1, 2013
Corn and soybean basis moved in opposite directions this week as farm soybean sales picked up and weakening Gulf bids pushed basis lower. For the week, corn basis was up 2 cents a bushel while soybean basis lost 2 cents a bushel. For corn, basis levels were firmer by 3 cents a bushel at ethanol plants as margin levels for processing corn to ethanol improved the past week for the first time in about a month. Nonetheless, margins continue to be tight and about 6 plants have idled production in the past few weeks. At the Gulf, export basis levels were up 4 cents on the week and river terminals posted a 3-cent advance In soybeans, basis weakness was widespread across much of the country with the exception being Eastern Cornbelt regions... -
Basis Levels Stagnant on Futures Rally
- Thursday January 31, 2013Corn and soybean basis saw little movement again this week as tight crop inventories mixed with struggling demand keeps basis levels treading water. For the week, US average corn and soybean basis levels averaged only a 0.3 cent a bushel increase. For corn, Thursday’s EIA ethanol number showed the slump in production continued as weekly ethanol production was only 792,000 barrels per day. Grain Hedge still looks for lower corn used for ethanol than USDA’s projection of 4.5 billion bushels for the year. Tight crush margins continue to force some plants to curb production, and this week we saw key plants in Eastern Nebraska lower their basis by a nickel or more. On the export front, Friday’s weekly tally came in at 138,500 MT versus... -
Basis Levels Stagnant on Futures Rally
By Cody Bills - Sunday January 20, 2013
Both corn and soybean basis levels saw limited movement this week, as futures markets climbed on renewed concerns about short supplies. For the week, U.S. average corn and soybean basis were unchanged. In the corn market, higher than expected feed use reported in last week’s USDA report cut the old-crop ending stocks forecast below trade estimates. But, continued lack of business in the export market and ethanol sector has kept basis levels stable to weaker. For the week, ethanol plants lowered their basis by 1-cent a bushel. On Wednesday, EIA showed ethanol production took a hit for the week as production averaged 784,000 bushels per day, the lowest level since the agency started releasing weekly data in June 2010. Grain Hedge still... -
Soybean Basis Jumps while Corn Stays Sluggish
By Cody Bills - Thursday January 10, 2013
Soybean basis saw double-digit gains in many parts of the country this week as strong export bids and falling barge freight helped push basis levels higher. For the week, U.S. average soybean basis was up 4 cents a bushel while corn Spot soybeans rose sharply on the river system this week, bolstered by a decline in shipping costs to the lowest levels since before the autumn harvest. An adequate supply of empty vessels on U.S. Midwest rivers pressured barge freight, with shipping costs on the Illinois River falling to the cheapest since August. Gulf premiums also rose by 10 cents a bushel . On average, river terminals were up 12 cents a bushel for the week while soybean crushing plants lagged behind with a 4-cent advance. In corn, lack... -
Basis Levels Inch Higher
By Cody Bills - Friday December 21, 2012
Basis levels were up modestly this week with sluggish demand keeping cash markets mostly quiet. On average across the U.S., spot corn basis managed a one cent gain for the week while spot beans were up 2 cents. In the corn market, ongoing demand struggles for exports and ethanol has kept basis levels mostly stable. While December is a time of usually increasing basis levels, for this year December has seen only a modest 2 cent improvement in US average basis. Weak export conditions have taken its toll on the Gulf where basis levels backed off 6 cents for the week. In the ethanol market, EIA’s weekly ethanol report showed production was down 2,000 barrels per day from last week and stocks of ethanol were sharply higher. Even with... -
Time For A Break
By Arlette Sambs - Thursday December 20, 2012
A friend of mine can quote just about every line from “It’s a Wonderful Life” and, I think, give a full description of at least four versions of “A Christmas Carol.” While I can’t do that, I have to admit, I do enjoy this time of year. Yes, we’re tying up all the loose ends of one fiscal year and plunging ahead into the next. And we probably all look at our budget numbers, hoping that hard work, sweat, intelligence and a bit of fresh thinking make them achievable. But growing up on a farm, with all of the things that can and did go wrong, I always tried to look at the bright spots and always tried to figure out what the tough times taught us. One of the things I learned, after watching Mom and Dad work so hard for all...
