NCC Announces 2023 Beltwide Cotton Conferences

The National Cotton Council recently announced the 2023 Beltwide Cotton Conferences, set for January 10-12 at the New Orleans Marriott in New Orleans. The event offers attendees timely updates on the latest research, technology and issues affecting U.S. cotton production and processing. The BWCC, coordinated by the National Cotton Council, annually brings together the U.S. cotton industry to exchange information about cotton production. The BWCC's Consultants Conference will run the afternoon of January 10 and extend through the morning of January 11. The 12 cotton technical conferences will meet concurrently beginning on the morning of January 11 and conclude by noon on January 12. The Cotton Sustainability Conference will plan to focus on the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol. The Cotton Engineering-Systems Conference is planning presentations on data analytics, robotics, remote sensing and unmanned aerial vehicles, among others. Those planning to attend are encouraged to register via the BWCC home page at www.cotton.org.

Walmart Foundation Teams Up with National FFA Foundation

The Walmart Foundation Monday announced a $750,000 grant to the National FFA Foundation to incorporate sustainability principles in school education. The National FFA Foundation will leverage the expertise of the National FFA Organization to develop these educational resources. The National FFA Organization is working to ensure they meet the demand by educating the next generation of leaders. This generation will lead by example, act responsibly and create solutions to feed, clothe and fuel the world. National FFA Organization Chief Program Officer Christine White says, “The funding made available allows us to create new sustainability-focused education resources and programming that integrates current sustainable practices across multiple disciplines.” The focus of these resources will be to leverage the social influences of students by creating an inclusive program so all students enrolled in agricultural education can see how sustainability is meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs. 

National Average Fuel Prices Edge Higher Again

The nation’s average gas price climbed for the third straight week, rising 13.8 cents from a week ago to $3.92 per gallon. The national average is up 22.5 cents from a month ago and 67.0 cents per gallon higher than a year ago. The national average price of diesel increased 18.0 cents in the last week to $5.04 per gallon. OPEC+ decided to cut oil production by two million barrels a day recently, causing an oil price surge of 20 percent, largely the reason for the increase in fuel prices. However, some refinery issues that increased prices appear to be improving in the West and Great Lakes. GasBuddy’s Patrick De Haan says, “prices in those two regions are likely to inch down, even with OPEC’s decision, as the drop in wholesale prices has offset the rise due to the production cut.” According to GasBuddy, U.S. retail gasoline demand fell last week by 0.3 percent.

Tuesday Watch List

Markets

With Columbus Day behind, Tuesday may feel like a Monday as we will have USDA's weekly report of export inspections at 10 a.m. CDT and Crop Progress update at 3 p.m. Traders will continue to keep an eye on the latest weather forecasts and outside market news, especially from Ukraine. Trading in grains may turn slow as the day wears on, ahead of Wednesday's WASDE and Crop Production reports.

Weather

Scattered showers are moving northeast from Texas into Missouri and Illinois Tuesday morning as an upper-level disturbance moves out ahead of a cold front that is sweeping into the Northern Plains. That front will move through most of the northwestern Corn Belt from Nebraska through Minnesota by tonight. The front will produce scattered showers and some thunderstorms, some of which may be severe from southeast Nebraska up into Wisconsin Tuesday evening and night. Breezy winds will occur both ahead of and behind the front, which increases the fire danger risk for those trying to harvest. The front is the first of two that will sweep through the country over the next couple of days.

August Pork Exports Higher While Beef Again Tops $1 Billion

U.S. pork exports in August topped year-ago totals for the first time in 2022. USDA data compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation shows beef exports were slightly above the large volumes of last August and once again surpassed $1 billion in value. “We talk about the importance of developing a wide range of markets for U.S. red meat, and the August numbers are a great example of that,” says USMEF President and CEO Dan Halstrom. “Exports face significant headwinds in some key destinations. However, the emphasis on broad-based growth pays dividends and allows the overall export picture to remain positive.” Pork exports reached 226,300 metric tons, the largest total since November 2021, while the value rose four percent to $659 million. Beef exports topped 133,800 metric tons, up one percent from last year and the second-largest volume on record, with the export value at just under $1.04 billion.

Dairy Industry Groups Hold Press Conference on Labor Shortage

Groups like the American Business Immigration Coalition Action, the National Milk Producers Federation, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and many others involved in U.S. dairy held a press conference on labor shortages. The press conference took place during the World Dairy Expo to help call attention to the urgency of fixing the national farm labor shortage by passing new agriculture workforce solutions in the Senate. Brody Stapel, president of the Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative Board, says dairy is a unique industry with different challenges than any other sector of agriculture. “Our cows must be milked twice a day, every day, and our raw product is extremely perishable,” he says. “That makes a steady workforce that much more important.” Walt Moore, president of the American Dairy Coalition, applauded the House of Representatives for passing the Farm Workforce Modernization Act and said it’s urgent that Senators from across the country do the same.

Drought Conditions Cover 321 Million Acres of Crops

Drought intensified in many of the nation’s top corn-growing states during the past week. Nationally, 321.6 million acres of crops are experiencing some level of drought, while more than 31 million beef cattle across the country are living with drought. The latest drought monitor map shows a pocket of D2 severe drought emerging in Illinois with poor crop conditions and low hay yield in that region. While drought conditions in Texas have improved recently, pockets of D4 exceptional drought are still present in one percent of the state. D3 extreme drought covers 12 percent of Texas. Drought also intensified in Minnesota, which saw its first area of D3 extreme drought since last December. Wisconsin’s D2 severe drought in the northwest corner spread out to cover four percent of the state. A small part of Iowa is experiencing D4 exceptional drought, while five percent of the Hawkeye State is experiencing D3 extreme drought.