Progressive Ag Marketing Report with Lilja
It’s been a long winter commuting and we have a community social media page where folks are always asking how the roads are to Fargo or Valley City. I’m a frequent poster on storm days / questionable days. We have some good banter back and forth with the Ford vs. Chevy vs. Dodge truck guys and it helps to add a bit of fun to the mundane winter. It’s been such a long winter that I commented they should outlaw white vehicles in this state. Another member stated that the interstate stripes should be anything but white so we would have a better reference point vs. the snow. My daughter would vote for pink but it’s a federal interstate regulation so motorists know they aren’t facing oncoming traffic and
there isn’t much we can do about it. But I wholeheartedly agreed with his anti-white stripe vs. the snow sentiment. My eyeballs were about at the end of the rope last Friday getting into town. I chose to write a detailed account of the journey rather than my typical the roads are soso with driving speeds of XX mph or that it’s a full coverage day so leave any vehicles with liability insurance in the driveway today or to make sure you tell the youngins and your southern cousins not to use cruise control. The following is true. Scouts honor.
As I entered eastbound I-94 I witnessed a white hearse and a black jeep traveling in opposite directions. Being that the colors were not reversed, and I did not bear sight to a pale horse or a dark horse I pressed on. I could feel the antislip traction control system kicking in at certain spots. This safety feature is standard in 2012 and newer vehicles. I got behind a semi going 65 mph and decided not to pass. The blue windshield washer fluid matched up perfectly to my blue 2013 F-150 as it soaked into all the snow and ice that were formed around my windshield. So make sure you are stocked up and your reservoirs are full of this sight-saving product. As I got to the Wheatland exit the fog lifted and things were looking better. My euphoria was short lived as once I hit the Casselton exit, I was reminded of the hockey rink that exists between that point and the Mapleton exit. I stayed behind the snowman from Smokey and the Bandit at a whopping 35-40 mph as he had gotten me this far. As I approached the Raymond exit on the last leg of my journey, I saw a black heavy duty tow truck pulling a white semi-trailer out of the ditch. My vision was fulfilled. It was a “colorful” commute to say the least. Stay safe everyone and hopefully this winter will be over soon!
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange cut its harvest estimate for Argentina soybeans to 27.0 MMT from 33.5 MMT previously. This would be the lowest since 27.5 MMT harvested in the 2000/2001 season. The USDA lowered soybean production for Argentina 8.0 MMT to 33.0 MMT. Argentina harvested 43.9 MMT last year and are now expected to fall 35% from USDA’s original harvest predictions, more than in 2009 and 2018. March U.S. soybean supply and use changes for 2022/23 include higher exports, lower crush, and reduced ending stocks. Soybean exports are raised 25 million bushels to 2.02 billion based on higher-than-expected shipments through February. With higher exports more than offsetting lower crush, ending stocks are reduced 15 million bushels to 210 million. The trade was expecting ending stocks to come in at 220 million bushels. If realized, soybean ending stocks would be the lowest in seven years.
This month’s 2022/23 U.S. corn outlook is for lower exports and larger ending stocks. Exports are reduced 75 million bushels reflecting the poor pace of sales and shipments to date despite relatively competitive U.S. prices. With no other use changes, ending stocks are up 75 million bushels from last month. Corn ending stocks are at 1.342 billion bushels, the second lowest ending stocks over the last nine years. Global coarse grain production for 2022/23 is forecast 3.2 MMT lower to 1,439.6 MMT. For Argentina, production is cut as continued heat and dryness during February and into early March reduce yield prospects for late-planted corn. The USDA estimates Argentina corn production at 40.0 MMT, down 7.0 MMT from the February report and below the average estimates of 43.2 MMT. The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange cut its harvest estimate for the Argentina corn crop to 37.5 MMT from 41.0 MMT previously. Brazil corn production remained unchanged at 125.0 MMT. Ukraine’s production held firm at 27.0 MMT and Ukraine’s exports were increased to 23.5 MMT.
The March WASDE report left 2022-23 wheat US ending stocks unchanged from February at 568 million bushels. US wheat exports remained unchanged at 775 million bushels. USDA is estimating world wheat production at 788.94 MMT an increase of 5.1 MMT from February. Australia, India and Kazakhstan were the notable increases. World ending stocks are expected to be 267.2 MMT a decrease of 2.0 MMT from last month. Russian wheat exports were unchanged while Australian exports increased 0.5 MMT. ABARES increased Australian wheat projections to a record 39.2 MMT.