July a Bad Month for Commodities

Pro-Farmer-tile2
Pro-Farmer-tile2

The Bloomberg Commodity Index dropped roughly 10% for the month amid rising supplies and Chinese demand concerns -- the worst monthly performance since September 2011. Corn and soybean futures extended their price declines this week and there's more near-term downside risk given the fact funds are still net long. Wheat futures also finished July under pressure on concerns about the competitiveness of U.S. supplies on the global market. Live cattle enjoyed some post-report short-covering, but lean hog futures posted sharp losses on Friday as traders recognize seasonals are turning bearish.

We take a detailed look at the Cattle Inventory Report -- and much more -- in this week's newsletter.

Pro Farmer Editor Brian Grete highlights this week's newsletter below:

Click here to subscribe to the Pro Farmer newsletter.

Pro Farmer Members have access to the daily news that moves the markets and impacts farm policy at ProFarmer.com.

Click here to request a free trial.

 

Latest News

Markets: Cash Cattle Rebound, Futures Notch Four-Week High
Markets: Cash Cattle Rebound, Futures Notch Four-Week High

After a mostly sluggish April, market-ready fed cattle saw a solid rally in the North and steady money in the South. Futures markets began to look past the psychologically bearish H5N1 virus news.

APHIS To Require Electronic Animal ID for Certain Cattle and Bison
APHIS To Require Electronic Animal ID for Certain Cattle and Bison

APHIS issued its final rule on animal ID that has been in place since 2013, switching from solely visual tags to tags that are both electronically and visually readable for certain classes of cattle moving interstate.

How Do Wind, Solar, Renewable Energy Effect Land Values?
How Do Wind, Solar, Renewable Energy Effect Land Values?

“If we step back and look at what that means for farmland, we're taking our energy production system from highly centralized production facilities and we have to distribute it,” says David Muth.

Ranchers Concerned Over Six Confirmed Wolf Kills in Colorado
Ranchers Concerned Over Six Confirmed Wolf Kills in Colorado

Six wolf depredations of cattle have been confirmed in Colorado from reintroduced wolves.

Profit Tracker: Packer Losses Mount; Pork Margins Solid
Profit Tracker: Packer Losses Mount; Pork Margins Solid

Cattle and hog feeders find dramatically lower feed costs compared to last year with higher live anumal sales prices. Beef packers continue to struggle with negative margins.

Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation
Applying the Soil Health Principles to Fit Your Operation

What’s your context? One of the 6 soil health principles we discuss in this week’s episode is knowing your context. What’s yours? What is your goal? What’s the reason you run cattle?