Monday, May 03, 2010
Hi from the Co-op!
Until this week, we have had the “ideal” spring. Our area received 3/4 “of rain on Thursday/Friday... Perfect! I heard over the weekend that last month was the warmest April on record. Unbelievable! May has not come in with the same type of weather. It was cold over the weekend and the forecast for this week is for cloudy, showers and cool.
Planting update: Wheat is 99% seeded, corn is 97% and beets are 100% planted. There are even some reports of a few soybeans in the ground. All-in-all, our early-planted crops went in the ground like no other. Now it’s a little wait to plant our soybeans/edible beans.
Spring wheat planting in North Dakota is 45% complete, compared to 3% last year. Corn planting is 44% complete which compares to 0% last year. 4% of the soybeans are seeded.
Nationally, corn is 68% planted vs. 2009’s 32% & the 5-year average of 40%. 15% of the soybeans are in the ground, which compares to 5% last year & the 5-year average of 8%. Spring Wheat planting is 60% complete compared to 22% last year & 47% average. Winter wheat still remains is very good condition @ 68% good/excellent (69% last week) and 47% last year.
You are blessed the “Ramble” early this week because Wednesday afternoon, Moni & I are heading to Denver for a very important meeting………… with our grandkids. It’s been over two months since we have seen them and with the current forecast for a gloomy week, it gives us a chance to spoil them for a couple of days. It will also give me an opportunity to see how the crops look elsewhere in the Midwest. I’ll give a FULL report in next week’s ramble.
Last Friday, Reynolds United Co-op was a luncheon host to a group of Italian Millers who are in the United States to find out more about our wheat industry. It was a group of 13 young millers from family-owned flour mills. This was an interesting group who were very eager to learn all they could how we dumped, graded, shipped and priced our wheat. They seemed to enjoy the tour of our facilities & had a lot of questions. They knew very little English, so communication was a slow process. Hopefully tours such as this one will create some additional business. The group was sponsored by the North Dakota Wheat Commission.
One big concern in US agricultural news this week is the oil slick that is spreading in the Gulf of Mexico. As of right now, the deepwater channel from the Mississippi River to the Gulf remains open, but as the oil slick moves north, Port of New Orleans shipments may very possibly be delayed or stopped. We will keep an eye on this story for you.
The harvest in South America had a good week last week. Currently, Argentina corn is now 50% harvested while their soybean crop is 64% in the bin. In Brazil, the soybean crop is now reaching completion at 94% finished
The biggest news in agriculture last week was China. As we have talked for a long time, China is one of the largest importers of soybeans in the world. But last week, for the first time in over four years, China bought two cargo ship loads of US corn, with rumors that there may be as many as six more to follow. We are being told that the purchases were made (by a couple of large animal feed processors) without Chinese government import licenses issued yet, hoping that everything goes through properly. If for some reason they don’t, talk is that the cargoes will be diverted to Japan or Malaysia. Just to give you a prospective on volume, two cargo ship loads amount to over 4.1 million bushels.
Here is an interesting story you probably won’t hear about here in the US. An estimated 10,000 French farmers are protesting this week by marching and driving tractors through the streets of Paris, voicing their concerns about declines in that country’s farm gate prices. The average price of wheat fell over 25% in France last year, while income from grains and oilseeds were down over 50%. The farmers are also protesting action being taken by the government that will reduce pesticide usage by over 50% by the year 2018, instituting environmental initiatives that farmers have had little to no say in.
In economic news this week, the biggest story was the downgrade of the credit ratings of Greece and Portugal down to junk status. Greece and Portugal are two of the four countries (recently referred to as “PIGS’) that are in major economic hardship. The other two countries (to complete the word PIGS) are Ireland and Spain.
Let’s look at how our cash prices fared in April. Wheat closed @ $4.96, up $.37 for April. New Crop wheat ended the month @ $5.25, up $.57. Soybeans are at $8.87, up $.25. New Crop beans are at $8.77, up $.41. Corn is @ $3.07, up $.32 with new crop closing @ $3.15, up $.13. It was a good month!
This Sunday (May 9th) is Mother’s Day. Please treat your Mother to Brunch, send flowers, card or call her. Tell her how much she means to you. I lost my mom 2 years ago & I can only wish I could call her once more on Mother’s Day to tell her I loved her.
Here’s a few quotes on our “Mom’s Influence” in our lives. I think we can all relate to quite a few of these!
My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."
My mother taught me RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"
My mother taught me LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."
My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"
My mother taught me about STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"
My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"
My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until your dad gets home."
My mother taught me HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."
My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."
My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"
My mother taught me WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."
And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you
Have a great week, everyone. I know I will!
Paul
