1. Post-WASDE worries: Lowered corn expectations in the United States (see our latest USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report coverage) will continue to run into the market volatility driven by global conflicts and the ongoing Congressional leadership drama. DTN analysts will continue to factor all this windage and elevation into where the commodity market targets hit.
2. Soil moisture watch: We'll watch drought monitors in the U.S. and in Canada to see how recent rains have changed soil moisture as we go into late fall and winter. Conditions continue to cause low water levels in the Mississippi River Valley, causing barge issues up and down those critical waterways.
3. Crop insurance comes into focus: With more than a third of the U.S. corn crop harvested, farmers have concrete ideas about their yields. Those real-world results are also reflected in this month's WASDE report, which lowered corn yields to 173 bushels per acre for expected average. Lower corn yields are coinciding with lower prices, which means crop insurance payments are becoming more likely for farmers who chose revenue-guarantee products.
4. Cattle numbers coming: This week sees the latest USDA Cattle on Feed report coming out Friday. We'll have our analyst's preview of the report mid-week, then actual numbers hit at 2 p.m. CDT Friday, with analysis of those numbers shortly after.
5. Economic reports calendar: Monday will see USDA's weekly grain export inspections at 10 a.m. CDT, followed by Crop Progress at 3 p.m. We'll have our commentary on Crop Progress soon after. Tuesday is a broad economy two-fer with U.S. retail sales for September due out at 7:30 a.m., followed by the Fed's report on U.S. industrial production at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday features the U.S. housing starts for September, out at 7:30 a.m., followed by the U.S. Energy Department's weekly energy inventories at 10 a.m. At 1 p.m., the Fed releases its description of economic activity in the Beige Book. Thursday is a busy morning, with USDA's weekly export sales report, U.S. weekly jobless claims and the updated U.S. Drought Monitor all due at 7:30 a.m. CDT. U.S. existing home sales in September and U.S. leading indicators are both due out at 9 a.m., followed by the U.S. Energy Department's weekly report of natural gas storage at 9:30 a.m. As noted earlier, Friday is USDA's monthly cattle on feed report for Oct. 1.