A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

Corn traders this week will be closely monitoring the latest coronavirus headlines and the updated USDA supply and demand numbers. The following week, traders will be focused on the new crop projections released at the Ag Outlook Forum. For the time being, prices in the MAR20 contract appear comfortable trading in a sideways pattern between $3.75 and $3.95 per bushel, an ...
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This video is from this past weekend's Super Bowl with players, coaches and family mic'ed up from the Chiefs and 49'ers. It brings back tons of great memories playing a sport I truly loved and the camaraderie of a team and a family. I just don't think many folks realize how well these players work together as a team, complementing one another ...
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Oil markets have been spooked by a recent report that Chinese demand has dropped by about three million barrels a day—roughly 20% of the nation’s daily demand late last year and 3% of global consumption. Not everyone is convinced that a 20% drop in Chinese demand—if that is the current run-rate—is likely to be sustained. But this may be too ...
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Regenerative agriculture is not only a growing buzzword in the industry, it's gaining traction with growers across the globe. More and more producers are implementing practices like composting, cover crops, and no-to-low-till into their operations, leaving food sources for soil microbes in the soil. Over time these practices help to strengthen the soil microbes which leads to better yields and ...
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Builders are hammering away at more new houses than at any time since before last decade’s foreclosure crisis, and the construction boom is driving up lumber prices. Lumber prices have declined sharply from the record highs in early 2018 but have seen a bit of an increase lately. The graph below shows two measures of lumber prices: 1) Framing Lumber ...
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Soybean traders continue to debate the risk and uncertainty of the coronavirus. I hate to sound like a broken-record the past several sessions but I believe the virus will continue to be a fairly significant headwind and obstacle we hadn't accounted for. the problem is we have no idea how long this storm will last? I heard some talk circulating in ...
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Global and U.S. prices fell into bear-market territory yesterday, generally defined as a -20% decline from a recent peak. The fall marked a rapid reversal from three weeks ago, when escalating tensions in the Middle East drove prices to fresh highs. I've included a chart below that shows the recent fallout in crude oil. Prices have fallen to lows not ...
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Iowa is holding one of the most anticipated events of the 2020 U.S. Presidential election today - "the Iowa caucuses". The election isn’t until November, but the first major hurdle for the Democratic candidates is the Iowa caucuses. This is where voters begin whittling down the pool of candidates to what will eventually be just one Democratic nominee. The Iowa ...
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We are now approaching +10,000 infected globally, which surpassed that of the SARS epidemic over a year long period (2002-2003). There are now a reported +213 dead, which is another +25% jump. There are now thought to be 100 confirmed cases of infection outside mainland China in at least 18 countries. Reuters reported that China’s Shandong province has asked companies not ...
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Tractors manufactured in the late 1970s and 1980s are some of the hottest items in farm auctions across the Midwest these days and it’s not because they’re antiques. Other than the software on modern equipment, tractors from that era aren’t that different from those produced in the 2000s, but that software is creating repair headwinds for many producers who are ...
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