Headlines:

  • US farmland prices fall again, but decline slows in machinery market
    US farmland prices extended their decline nearly to four years, amid growing strain on farm incomes, a lender survey showed – but the ag equipment market showed signs of slowing its shrinkage. A US farmland price index compiled by Creighton University showed a reading of 39.6 for September, a 46th month below the 50.0 level which indicates a neutral market. The figure represented a retreat from the 43.0-point level recorded for August, a three-year high, if continuing the successive monthly record of shrinkage which began in December 2013. And it came amid evidence of stressed producer finances, with 51% of bankers answering the survey reporting have restructured farm loans, although default levels remained low.
  • Brazil cuts coffee harvest estimate, citing pest damage
    Brazil cut its estimate for its soon-to-be-completed coffee harvest, citing damage to its arabica crop from beetle pests and wet weather, more than offsetting improved ideas of robusta production. CONAB, Brazil’s official crop bureau, downgraded by 790,000 bags to 44.77m bags its estimate for the country’s 2017 coffee harvest, the world’s biggest. The estimate for the robusta crop was raised by 568,000 bags to 10.71m bags, although this would still represent the second weakest result of this decade, behind only last year’s drought-ravaged crop. However, the upgrade was more than offset by a reduction in the estimate for arabica production, cut by 1.36m bags to 34.07m bags – taking it 22% below the 2016 result.

Summary:

The markets were mixed today December Corn was flat while March Corn was up a tick. Soybean and Wheat futures were also close to finishing flat. November Beans gain 3 ticks and January Beans was up 2 ticks. December and March Wheat rounded out the day with 3 and 2 cent gains respectively. December Crude continues to struggle with the $51 mark and that remains the key level that this contract needs to overcome to trigger a higher probability of reaching higher.

Weekly Soybean export sales were released today exceeding trade estimates that ranged from 1M to 1.6M metric tons at 2.33M metric tons. Weekly Corn exports missed trade estimates coming in at 526.9K metric tons. Wheat was essentially in the middle of trade expectations coming in at 307.2k metric tons. Additionally, private exporters reported 132k metric tons of Soybeans for delivery to China for the 2017-18 marketing year.