NASCAR Race in Iowa Powered by Ethanol

Iowa Corn is the entitlement partner of the first-ever NASCAR Cup Series race in the state, happening this weekend in Newton, Iowa. The Iowa Corn 350, powered by ethanol, will showcase the performance of ethanol at the fastest short track on the planet, which is surrounded by corn fields. “As a farmer, seeing NASCAR run on ethanol is a proud moment,” says Iowa farmer Stan Nelson, also the President of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. “Gearing up for the weekend ahead, I am pleased to share with the NASCAR family how we utilize higher blends of ethanol to make a sustainable difference every day with a cleaner-burning, more affordable fuel option at the pump.” The Iowa Corn 350, Powered by Ethanol, is at 6 p.m. Central Time on Sunday, June 16, and be shown live on the USA Network. It’s the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series race at the Iowa Speedway.

Wednesday Watch List

Markets

The U.S. Labor Department's consumer price index for May will be out at 7:30 a.m. CDT Wednesday. The U.S. Energy Department's weekly energy inventory report is at 10 a.m., followed by USDA's WASDE and Crop Production reports at 11 a.m. The Federal Reserve's interest rate announcement is set for 1 p.m., followed by the Fed Chairman's press conference and the Treasury Department's report on the federal budget for May.

Weather

A small system and front will move across the Upper Midwest for Wednesday. Some isolated showers are there already Wednesday morning, but increasing temperatures will lead to potential for severe storms in the region later in the day and Wednesday night. The rest of the country is largely dry outside of the Florida Peninsula, where heavy rain is falling.

Wyoming Joins List of States With HPAI Infection in Dairy Cattle

The Wyoming Livestock Board and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture received confirmation last week that Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza has been found in a dairy cattle herd. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the infection, the first case of HPAI in a Wyoming dairy farm. “The Livestock Board encourages all dairy producers to closely monitor their herd and contact their veterinarians immediately if their cattle are symptomatic,” says Hallie Hasel, Wyoming State Veterinarian. “The primary concern with this diagnosis is on-dairy production losses, as the disease has been associated with decreased milk production.” Hasel also reiterated that the risk to cattle is minimal and the human health risk remains very low. Symptoms of cattle infection include a drop in milk production, loss of appetite, changes in manure consistency, thickened or colostrum-like milk, and low-grade fever. Dairies are required to ensure that only milk from healthy animals enters the food chain.

Fairness to Farmers Makes June Dairy Month Work

June is National Dairy Month. It’s hard to have a national dairy month without dairy, and it’s hard to have dairy without dairy farmers. What hasn’t worked out well for milk producers since 2019 is the current Class One mover, the formula that helps set the price of fluid milk under the Federal Milk Marketing Orders. That formula was changed in the 2018 Farm Bill. Under current rules, which were adjusted so that milk processors could better manage pricing risk, dairy producers have lost an estimated $1.2 billion compared to the previous formula. The losses are occurring because farmers now bear a disproportionate part of the burden when prices turn volatile. That wasn’t foreseen when the change to the formula first went into effect. The National Milk Producer’s Federation proposal during the FMMO hearing restores the old formula, as does the farm bill recently passed by the House Agriculture Committee.

Feeding U.S. Military Members Lab-Grown Meat

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association condemned a recently announced U.S. Department of Defense-sponsored research grant that will fund the development of lab-grown meat products by a biotechnology manufacturing company called BioMADE. NCBA says it’s outraged that the Department of Defense is spending millions of taxpayer dollars to feed America’s heroes like lab rats. “U.S. cattle producers raise the highest quality of beef in the world, with the lowest carbon footprint, and American troops in all branches deserve to get that same wholesome, natural meat and not the ultra-processed, lab-grown protein that is cooked up in a chemical-filled bioreactor,” says National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane. “This misguided research project is a giant slap in the face to everyone who has served the country.” The NCBA, which has represented cattle producers since 1898, says American veterans and active-duty troops deserve so much better than this.

Food Spending Varies by State

The Economic Research Service recently analyzed food sales trends at the state level and found a wide variation in the results. U.S. per capita food sales reached $7,102 in 2023. The biggest variation took place between Food at Home and Food Away From Home. Nationally, about 45 percent, or $3,179, of food purchases went toward food at home. Per capita food at home ranged from a low of $2,503 in West Virginia to a high of $4,157 in Alaska. Higher per capita food-at-home sales were typically concentrated in the Northwestern and Mountain West States, as Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Utah rounded out the top five. Illinois, Minnesota, Indiana, and Oklahoma followed West Virginia with the lowest per capita FAH sales in 2023. Per capita, food away from home purchases in 2023 were higher nationally than any year on record at $3,923. Washington, D.C., had the highest total FAFH at $10,644. 

Brazil Tax Changes May Make U.S. Soybeans More Attractive

Reports are showing a surprising tax change in Brazil has the potential to make soy grown in the world’s largest soybean exporter less competitive with supplies from the U.S. A provisional measure signed by Brazil’s president limits the ability of Brazil’s commodity exporters and processors to monetize tax credits. To compensate, merchants will likely have to raise soy prices, making beans grown in Brazil less competitive with American soybeans, at least in the short term. Amius Ltd., a risk management firm, says in this scenario, there would be a shift in soybean demand to the U.S., removing Brazil as a competitive source between August and September, accelerating the U.S. export program. Arlan Suderman (SOO-der-man), chief economist with StoneX, says Brazilian soybean processors and biofuel producers will essentially have higher tax costs and lower margins. “The revenue drop will shift some crush and biofuel activity to Argentina and the U.S.,” Suderman told Reuters.