2015 ADAO Schedule

All-Day Ag Outlook Meeting Schedule
March 10, 2014 - Beef House
16501 Indiana 63
Covington, Indiana 47932

Registration
8:45am eastern / 7:45am central

Opening Remarks
9:25am eastern / 8:25am central

Cash Grain Panel
9:30am eastern / 8:30am central
Greg Johnson, The Andersons - Champaign, Illinois
Aaron Curtis, MIDCO - Bloomington, Illinois
Matt Bennett, Channel Seeds - Windsor, Illinois
Chuck Shelby, Risk Management Commodities - Lafayette, Indiana

Land Values 2015
10:15am eastern / 9:15am central
Murray Wise, CEO Murray Wise Associates - Champaign, Illinois

Break (20 min)

Livestock 2015
11:05am eastern / 10:05am central
Chris Hurt, Purdue University - West Lafayette, Indiana

Futures 2015
11:35am eastern / 10:35am central
Sue Martin, Ag and Investment Services - Webster City, Iowa

Lunch and Trade Show
12:20pm eastern / 11:20am central

Soybean Commodity Panel
1:30pm eastern / 12:30pm central
Curt Kimmel, Bates Commodities - Normal, Illinois
Wayne Nelson, L&M Commodities - New Market, Indiana
Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics & Consulting - Atchison, Kansas
Bill Mayer, Strategic Farm Marketing - Champaign, Illinois

Corn Panel
2:15pm eastern / 1:15pm central
Dan Zwicker, CGB Enterprises - Mandeville, Louisiana
Pete Manhart, Bates Commodities - Normal, Illinois
Jacquie Voeks, Stewart Peterson Group - Champaign, Illinois
Bill Gentry, Risk Management Commodities - Lafayette, Indiana

Reviewing the Pace of Corn & Soybean Exports

Following the January 12 USDA Crop Production and Grain Stocks reports it has becoming increasingly clear that the story in the corn and soybean markets for the foreseeable future will be the ongoing pace of consumption.



Consumption of corn produced in the United States can be tallied as corn for used for ethanol, fed to livestock, or exported. The soybean consumption numbers are derived from an item called the crush… that’s when a soybean facility crushes the bean to extract the oil and meal from it. There is also the feed and residual number, and again exports. University of Illinois Ag Economist John Newton has explored the export numbers.

He says, holding all else constant, a lower rate of corn and soybean exports relative to current USDA projections would increase carryover stocks, and could produce downward pressure on prices. USDA, as of the January reports, expects corn exports will be 1.75 billion or 1750 million bushels for the current marketing year. Newton also says right now the actual numbers suggest corn exports will need to pick up to make it to seventeen-fifty.

With nearly 40 percent of the marketing year in the books, corn exports need to accelerate in order to reach the 1,750 million bushel WASDE projection. Based on the implied GATS estimate of 602 million bushels, 1,148 million bushels need to be exported during the remainder of the marketing year to reach the WASDE projection. On a weekly basis this total represents approximately 37 million bushels per week, and would require an increase of 57 percent over the current 10-week average export volume.

Again, in order to meet the USDA projected yearly exports total of 1.750 billion bushels the pace of corn exports needs to average 37 million bushels per week from mid-January forward. Using a similar set of calculations John Newton reports cumulative soybean exports for the 2014/15 marketing year total 1.312 billion bushels, up 18 percent from last year.

Based on the FGIS totals, then, to reach the 1,770 million bushel WASDE projection it’s implied that 458 million bushels of soybeans need to be exported during the remainder of the marketing year. On a weekly basis this total represents approximately 15 million bushels per week.

While corn exports are accelerating, the pace of soybean exports from U.S. ports is slowing down. Combining the outstanding sales with the remaining balance needed, Newton expects sales could come up 42 million bushels short of the WASDE projection. He thinks soybean exports will struggle to meet the lofty 1.77 billion bushel USDA estimate, but that it is entirely possible.

Issues Stemming from January USDA Report

The final 2014 crop production numbers delivered by USDA in the January reports leave three issue unresolved.

The three problems, as identified by University of Illinois Ag Economist Darrel Good, center on the number of corn and soybean acres planted, the surprisingly small amount of corn used in the first three months of the marketing year, and the surprisingly large number of soybeans consumed in that same timeframe.

The difference between the total number of planted acres USDA NASS has reported over time and those officially reported by farmers to FSA , USDA’s Farm Service Agency, has grown. The number of acres planted to wheat, corn, and soybeans as tallied by USDA NASS has steadily grown larger than the number of acres farmers are telling FSA they’ve sown. USDA has not offered an explanation. The difference in 2014 is nearly 9.3 million acres over the three crops says Darrel Good.

He says the changing relationship between NASS acreage estimates and acreage reported to FSA may make early FSA reports less useful in anticipating NASS final acreage estimates.

The second issue is related to how much corn was used in the months of September, October, and November. Those are the first three months of the marketing year. USDA totals 4.25 billion bushels of disappearance of which feed and residual use accounted for 2.198 billion. This number is a 114 million bushels lower than the usage in the same period last year after it was revised down. The problem says the U of I number cruncher is that over time the range of usage represented in the first quarter figure as compared to total usage for the year has gotten wider.

First quarter use is no longer a reliable forecaster of total marketing year consumption. It means a lot of uncertainty will persist in the marketplace about how much corn is being fed to livestock.

The numbers do get better as time passes during the marketing year. The expectation is the March 31 Grain Stocks report will be more accurate.

The third issue with the January USDA figures is also in the consumption numbers. The implied residual disappearance of soybeans in the first quarter set a record. This might mean the size of the 2014 soybean crop was over estimated.

While this is an issue it will not be resolved for several months with some insight coming from the March Grain Stocks report.

Time will eventually fix all three issues, but it is important to recognize them and the potential changes these may bring to the commodity markets.

The Ethanol to Gasoline Relationship

The plummeting price of gasoline has caused a dramatic change in the relationship between the price of corn and the price of gasoline. However, this means little for how much ethanol will be produced and consumed.