What to Watch for...
Wednesday, February 01, 2012
We have a snowstorm starting Friday morning in the Western Plains. Here are two examples of snowstorm trades that happened in December.
We rallied all the week before a storm that hit on Friday Dec 2 and Saturday Dec 3. The storm was very manageable, feedlots had all weekend to clean up the pens, road crews had all weekend to clean the roads, and transportation of ready cattle to feedlots was not affected on Monday. The market opened on Monday and sold hard all day. The trade had disappointment over the snows and also saw some disappointing consumer demand news.
The second event hit on Monday the 19th. Snows were worse than expected, employees could not get to packing plants, trucks could not deliver cattle to plants, and feedlots noted these young calves in the lots were having a tough time gaining weight. The market traded strong from Monday through Thursday then broke for other reasons the next week.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thought it would be important for us to revisit the facts on North Dakota. Last year, due to the wet spring and early summer, farmers were not able to plant 4.6 million acres.
While most of that will be wheat this year, you can be sure these soils will encourage strong corn planting. There is also that shortfall of 1.1 million last year of its three oilseeds (soybeans, canola, and sunflower). How much of that ground will be pushed into corn?
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Rain and snow will hit Thursday and Friday from Kansas through Texas. Snows of 5 to 10 inches will hit in Eastern Colorado, Western Kansas, and the TX/OK Panhandle. These are all prime feedlot areas. Let’s see if cattle futures stabilize here.
