Friday, May 14, 2010
Hidey-Ho from the Co-op!
I decided early this week not to send out a “Ramble” until the sun appeared. Guess what? We have a beautiful sunny day so you will be “blessed” with my ramble!
The past two weeks have been rainy & gloomy but we have “only” gotten between 1 ½ - 2 inches. It won’t take very long for the ground to dry out & seeding will again start up. The forecast looks great for the next 8-10 days.
The cool weather we have gotten the past 2 weeks has slowed down emergence, but with 80’s forecast for next week, crop should “pop” out of the ground. Weeds will be showing up, but we will help you out with that problem!
Even with our cooler temps, the wheat & sugarbeet crops look fantastic.
Even though the soil temperature is warmer this year than in past few years, it’s still a very good idea to treat your soybeans. Cool periods (such as the last two weeks) occur and slow down the germination & emergence, putting stress on the seed. It’s just a good insurance.
Last week Moni & traveled to Denver, so here’s my windshield crop report: Seeding from Fargo south to Watertown is lagging behind as the fields looked wet. From Watertown to Sioux Falls seeding looked further along with some emergence of corn. As we went west on 90, less and less crop work was done. I don’t know why, the conditions looked like they could be out in the fields but we saw very little activity. AS we traveled south on 83 thru SD & Nebraska, there was nobody out in the field. This is not unusual for this area which is not heavily farmed with their emphasis on livestock. Along Interstate 80 in Nebraska & into Colorado on 76, we saw some tractors in the field, but not many.
Moni is the best wife in the world. She let me listen to 13 hours of golf on the trip back home on Sunday!
Spring wheat planting in North Dakota is 53% complete, compared to 12% last year. Corn planting is 53% complete which compares to 6% last year. 5% of the soybeans are seeded.
Nationally, corn is 81% planted vs. 2009’s 46% & the 5-year average of 62%. 30% of the soybeans are in the ground, which compares to 13% last year & the 5-year average of 19%. Spring Wheat planting is 67% complete compared to 34% last year & 66% average. Winter wheat still remains is very good condition @ 66% good/excellent (68% last week) and 46% last year.There wasn’t much change in the crop condition ratings for wheat this week. However, even though the crop looks good, there is a new concern to worry about. Last week was the Kansas Wheat Tour, where several groups of experts scan the state, walking wheat fields, and try to estimate the potential yields to be harvested in the weeks to come. And while the “good to excellent” rating of the Kansas wheat crop is at 64% this year compared to 53% last year, the first day’s results of the crop tour is not producing the results expected. With an average state yield of 41.3 bushels per acre last year, the estimate of the crop participants are only expecting a 40.7 bushel per acre average this year. Going in to the harvest, most people are expecting the largest wheat crop in Kansas since 2003, but I guess we will have to wait to see what really happens.
On Tuesday morning, USDA issued their monthly Crop /Supply & Demand Report. All wheat production is estimated at 2.043 billion, a bit higher than trader’s estimates (2.033). Corn production is estimated @ 13.37 billion. They lowered their corn ending stocks by 161 mb. In soybeans, the ending stocks are estimated @ 365 million bushels with the markets expecting 340 million bushels. They estimated the 2010 crop size @ 3.31 billion bushels vs. 3.359 last year.
I have the two best grandkids in the world! I miss them already……
It was confirmed that China bought six more cargo ship loads of corn from the US this week. Rumors still linger that there may be even more to come.
There was little harvest news out of Argentina this week. However, Brazil is all but finished now with harvest estimates coming in at 97%.
Pizza & beer on the patio at the Coppin house tonight!
I want to remind everyone with these volatile markets, it’s a good idea to sell on any “mini-rallies”. If the price gets close to your trigger, call Travis or me to put in an order. Over the past year, the night session has gained volume and RUC does use it to place hedges that would normally have to wait until the next morning. Call!
Local cash price struggled this week. Wheat closed down $.29 this week @ $4.73. New crop was down $.29 @ $4.96. Corn closed the week down $.09 @ $ 2.93 and new crop corn closed @ $3.06, down $.06. Soybeans ended the week @ $8.54, down $.06. New crop beanies are @ $8.36, down $.08.
I received the following “thoughts” last week in an email. Thanks, Doug.
Enjoy!
I don't think our kids know what an apron is. The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material.
But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids..
And when the weather was cold grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow,
bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folks knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
REMEMBER:
Grandma used to set her hot baked apple pies on the window sill to cool. Her granddaughters set theirs on the window sill to thaw.
They would go crazy now trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...
Have a great weekend everybody!
Paul
