1. National Ag Day, March 19: Sunday is St. Patrick's Day, and with the warm winter things are beginning to green up around the country. That also means it's time for National Ag Day, March 19. There will be celebrations around the U.S., and a number of observances and festivities in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday. DTN, which is a sponsor of the Agriculture Council of American that organizes National Ag Day, will be on hand in the nation's capital
2. Podcasts hit hot topics: In addition to timely news coverage, we explore the background of many of our top stories via the Progressive Farmer Field Posts podcasts. The latest, a wrap-up of the 2024 Commodity Classic, is up in our podcast area, and next week we'll have a summation of Ag Day events. Podcast host Sarah Mock will be interviewing DTN Editor-in-Chief Greg Horstmeier on those topics.
3. Cattle on Feed Report Friday: As noted below, Friday is the latest Cattle on Feed Report numbers; we'll have a preview by DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart earlier in the week and analysis of the latest numbers Friday afternoon.
4. Cool clipper coming: The previous week ended like a lion, with storms, hail and tornado damage around the Midwest. That will be followed by a clipper system will quickly move through the Midwest this weekend and will send a stronger cold front and burst of below-normal temperatures through the country going into early next week. The storm will also produce lake-effect snow in the Great Lakes.
5. Economic reports to watch: Monday, 9 a.m. has the Grain Inspections and the Home Builder Confidence Index. Tuesday, we'll see the 7:30 a.m. release of February Housing Starts and Building Permits. Wednesday, at 1 p.m. we expect the latest Federal Reserve interest-rate decision, followed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's press conference at 1:30. At 2 p.m. we'll see the Broiler Hatchery report. Thursday starts early with 7:30 a.m. release of Grain Export Sales and Initial Jobless Claims. At 8:45 a.m. there is the S&P Services and Manufacturing PMIs. At 9 a.m. the U.S. Leading Economic Indicators and Existing Home Sales reports hit, followed by Livestock Slaughter numbers at 2 p.m. On Friday, at 2 p.m. is the U.S. Cattle on Feed and Chicken and Eggs reports.