Yesterday, Matt Herrington reported on the drought conditions in the west and High Plains. The western U.S. is at its worst drought conditions in 20 years, and the Plains states are also at the worst since the 2012 drought, though state by state conditions are spottier. Below is a closer look at the coverage of cattle country; about 37 percent of the U.S. cattle inventory is in areas experiencing a drought. Pasture and hay conditions are moving to the point of not being able to recover. Overall, 35 percent of hay acreage is in drought areas, and 62 percent of alfalfa hay acreage is in drought areas.
Given the regional breakdown above, including the Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan), the west (California, Idaho, New Me...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
