Grain Archives - Page 2 of 3

Posted on November 3, 2021

We are full steam ahead into harvest at ALCIVIA grain elevators. We had an early start to harvest and then faced some rain delays. The next couple weeks look like a great opportunity to get a lot of the crop in. The markets have shown some ups and downs as well. All commodities are trading lower today mostly spurred by technical selling and profit taking.

The markets are giving you some opportunity to price some 2022 grain. Wheat prices are soaring higher. It would be a good time to lock in some sales at these levels.

Next Tuesday, November 9^th, is the USDA S/D report.

When harvest is rolling, it is difficult to watch the markets and make marketing decisions. Please let us help you with these decisions. The best way to work the market is using open offers. You decide what price level works and we can put in a working offer to get the bushels sold if they reach that level. Reach out to a grain marketing specialist to get a plan together to price your grain coming in the elevator and the grain stored on the farm. We are here for you.

Have a great day!

Keep the faith and stay safe!

Judy Uhlenhake

Posted on November 1, 2021

by Lacey Seibert
Vice President of Grain & Logistics

In today’s competitive grain markets, ALCIVIA has strong incentives to use a variety of strategies for reducing variable costs of handling grain. Train-loading elevators—high capacity, high-speed grain loading facilities—are a great example of an innovative solution that improves efficiency and provides greater market access to ALCIVIA members. These facilities provide improved operational efficiency, reduced transportation costs, and attract grain from further distances.

ALCIVIA has a 110-car shuttle loading facility on the Union Pacific Railroad, in Evansville, WI. Corn, beans, and wheat trains from Evansville find their way to feeders, processors, and export facilities in Wisconsin, Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, the Gulf, and the Pacific Northwest. The Evansville facility has dumping capacity of 50,000 bushels per hour and storage capacity of 10,000,000 bushels. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Evansville team utilized the site’s 40,000 bushel per hour load-out capacity to ship over 15,000,000 bushels.

In Whitewater and Cottage Grove, ALCIVIA loads 25 car sets on the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad. Bushels from these facilities are sold to processors in Wisconsin and Illinois. Between Cottage Grove and Whitewater, ALCIVIA has 6,500,000 bushels of storage capacity. Each dumping 35,000 bushels per hour and loading out 15,000 bu. per hour, these sites collectively moved out 7,000,000 bushels of corn, soybeans, and wheat in the 2021 fiscal year.

On the Canadian Pacific Railway, ALCIVIA’s Fall River, facility, loads 110-car shuttles of corn, soybeans, and wheat to feeders, processors, and export facilities in Illinois, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. In the 2021 fiscal year, the Fall River facility put it’s 40,000 bushel per hour dumping capacity and it’s 80,000 bushel per hour load-out capacity to work, receiving and shipping out over 8,800,000 bushels making great use of the sites 4,900,000 bushels of storage capacity.

ALCIVIA’s diverse market access through 3 different rail networks has provided members the opportunity to respond to year over year variability in competitive grain markets. The ALCIVIA team is focused on keeping a pulse on which markets are demanding grain and utilizing rail assets to respond. In the last year, ALCIVIA has made significant investments in maintaining the railroad tracks around these facilities as well as the storage and dumping capacities. ALCIVIA’s train-loading elevators are key to its vision of customer success powered by engaged employees.

Posted on October 26, 2021

Waiting on the grain cart or truck driver? Sounds like an opportunity to think about 2022 grain! Harvest is in full swing, and many want to put the blinders on and fill contracts, bins, and do tillage before the rain, snow, and frost. Those are the operational decisions that help lead to the business’s success, but what type of business decisions are being missed by choosing that over looking at markets?

The hot topic is fertilizer. There is no question that the fertilizer market continues to bring a firm presence, but does the grain market bring the same feeling? The December 2022 Chicago futures board traded at $5.40 at its highest point today. ALCIVIA offers a variety of tools in its marketing toolbox to secure a value that fits your operation.

There is a lot of grain still in the field yet, but have you asked yourself the following questions?

Am I continuing to successfully market my 2021 crop? Placing it in storage? Do I have targets in mind for what I need or want out of my crop? If I do, have I placed an offer or made that sale?

Keep rollin’! Happy Harvest.

Dylan

Posted on October 20, 2021

What an awesome week for harvest! Markets continue to be a bit stronger. Make sure to check on your contract status through the customer portal. Are your contracts full and you need to be selling or putting offers in?

With corn harvest under way, the market continues to push stronger. Harvest is moving quickly with 52% nationwide done. The 5-year average at this time is about 41% harvested. Are you watching next fall corn prices? We have plenty of options at ALCIVIA to help you be profitable.

Soybean harvest nationwide is 60% done and with great weather this week will keep the US above the 5-year average. The leader in bean harvest is MN this last week with 91% completed. It is interesting that beans inch higher with talk of Chinese demand growing and exports improving from past weeks. Beans are getting support from vegetable oils globally. An interesting note is the November 2022 board is almost the same as November 2021. Make sure to be thinking of forward sales.

Wheat continues to be strong as planting and emergence is on pace for the 5-year average. With wheat over $6.50 per bushel on next July cash, are you putting some sales on?

ALCIVIA has plenty of options to help you be profitable. Don’t forgot to keep selling even when you are harvesting and busy with fieldwork. Please have a safe harvest!

Melisa

Posted on October 13, 2021

Yet another market moving WADSE report was released yesterday. The beans had the most drastic changes. Yield went up from 50.6 bushels per acre to 51.5 bushels per acre for the national average. This was a highly expected yield increase, especially as Wisconsinites are flying through harvest. Most farmers I am talking to have said their bean yields have been better than expected. The surprising section of the report was the ending stocks. The stocks went from 185 to 320 million bushels. After seeing the 135-million-bushel change, the market, which was already sliding, had a huge drop. From last Friday we have seen the bean price drop over 60 cents. Corn also had some changes, however not as extreme as the beans. Yield moved 0.20 bushel, putting the national average at 176.5, which slightly raised the ending stocks to 1.5 billion bushels. Corn has moved below the $5.00 mark in all of our ALCIVIA locations. On the positive side, wheat production and ending stocks are still lower than the previous September report. With where the wheat price is and most of the beans coming off earlier than normal, I foresee many Wisconsin farmers planting wheat this year. I have already seen wheat sown in places where I know there hasn’t been wheat in 10+ years! With that being said, it is also a great time to start looking at forward contract 2022 wheat.

Although the WADSE report was a bit of a disappointment, I just want to remind you of the exciting harvest we are having! The U.S. farmers are getting the crop off rapidly this year. Crop progress report released that the nation is 41% completed with harvest on corn, 10% ahead of the national average. Bean harvest is also ahead of the 5-year national average at 49% completed. Now if the rain and humidity would subside, we could finish the bean harvest.

As you try to navigate through all the reports this week, remember to focus on your farm and what brings profit to your operation. Is almost $5 corn still making money? Do $11.00 beans give you enough to buy fall fertilizer? Please reach out to your Grain Marketing Specialist if there is anything we can do to help ensure you are capitalizing on the opportunity the market is still providing.

Have a great day!

Kasey Baker

Posted on September 29, 2021

Harvest pace is starting to pick up with 18% of the crop being reported harvested this week compared to 10% last week, 14% last year this week, and 15% on a 5-year average. We’re sure the memory of last year’s post-harvest rally is fresh in producers’ minds and we can’t blame you. No one can predict what will happen in the markets in the coming months and we are reminded that marketing years like this past year historically happen 2 in 10 years.

Questions to consider about marketing grain during harvest this year: At what point in harvest will we see the pressure released from the supply side of the equation and reflect in a softening cash market? Will the better-than-expected yields in certain areas of the country be enough to cover the drought areas? How will the USDA analyze and report this year’s production? If $5 corn and $12 is not high enough for you to sell, what level is and what is your risk tolerance to wait for this level? Are you making money selling grain at current?

We are encouraging producers to think about these questions and reward the strong cash market with sales. Wishing you all a safe and bountiful harvest! Please contact your local grain sales specialist to review sales and harvest progress and to look over your marketing options.

Make sure to have lunch on us this harvest at your local ALCIVIA elevator! Here is our harvest lunch schedule. Pick up a boxed lunch for you and your crew! We look forward to seeing you!

Posted on September 16, 2021

The southern territory of the co-op has received its first new crop bushels. Harvest is starting to kick off in small pockets of the state. Basis values have moved more toward new crop values with few premiums left to sell as harvest is weeks or even days away. Understanding new crop basis and how the grain should flow is an important tactic this fall. The value of freight and time is what is important in these next months. Freight values in the Midwest continue to stay firm as there is a demand for grains and oilseeds to be moved in the last part of the old crop market and then transiting into a new crop harvest. The trucking market seems to carry on with driver and truck shortages. This may have an impact on fall harvest and how commodities need to flow. Basis, freight, and space are all influencers of each other and determine the market of where grain needs to go.

The volumes of exports for the coming year are lower than last year that this time. The market has built carry in both the soybean and corn markets. Those spreads are continuously moving each day as the market tries to make its mind up. River markets have bounced back a hair this week after the pressure of Hurricane IDA. River terminals in the Gulf have turned back on, but barge freight continues to stay firm as the gulf does not see many purchases from China. The PNW is showing consistent values as China’s cargo freight is spreading to the west coast better than the gulf. Natural gas continues to rally as supplies stay tight and there are projections for a cold winter outlook. The fertilizer and input market seems to be keeping firm with the influences of Hurricane Ida and barge freight. We are in a high price environment for all commodities. Be forward-thinking and look for opportunities in the future while they still present themselves. Volumes never have to be large, but ask yourself if you’d profit and be satisfied with that choice.

Stay safe and enjoy harvest!!

Posted on September 7, 2021

Happy September! The chatter in the market has to do with Hurricane Ida, but that is only 1% of what is happening. Here are a couple of reasons affecting the markets. For the last couple of months, export projections have been less than this time last year, with South America’s corn crop getting bigger because of cycles and more acres. South America is about to start planting again. Looking forward to the U.S. corn crop in 2022 with expanded acres. Higher prices do take a toll on demand. The chatter of being very tight for ending stocks has proven to be false again. Funds continue to stay long in grains with historic position sizes. Freight globally has been impacting all agricultural products.

USDA is set to release its monthly supply and demand report on Friday at 11 am central time. Private analysts have reduced corn yields from 176.5 bushels per acre to 174.4 and beans from 51.5 to 50.0 bushels per acre. These numbers are still higher than USDA’s August numbers.

Exports are starting to resume in the lower Mississippi River, but some exports are unable to reach their facilities at this point. With drought conditions out west and in the northwestern corn belt, watch for corn to flow differently from this last year. There is a significant freight difference from the Gulf to PNW.

With harvest right around the corner, make sure to visit your offers or put offers in. Don’t make decisions based on what the person next door is doing. Make smart decisions and goals for your operation only. Please reach out to any one of us to help you with your goals.

ALL. TOGETHER. HARVEST!

Melisa

Posted on August 31, 2021

As we approach the last days of summer and children head back to school, we get into the mindset of Fall Harvest. New Crop 2021 officially starts tomorrow, and the bids are reflecting that. Although I’m not quite ready for pumpkin spice everything, I am eager to see what this harvest will bring. The conversations most grain farmers are having with the dairy farmers currently revolves around chopping dates and tons to predict what their corn harvest is going to look like. What are your theories on the correlation? Let us know what you are seeing and hearing about predicted harvest dates and results. Here is what the traders are telling us.

From close last Friday 8/27, the corn futures are down almost 30c for fall delivery. The corn crop appears to look above average. There has been no change in the good-to-excellent rating for the prior week which is holding at 60%, almost in line with last year at 62%. Corn is progressing a little faster than last year at 91% dough, 59% dent, and 9% mature. We are still waiting to hear results from damages due to Hurricane Ida. The hopes were that the south was going to have early harvest corn to help bridge the gap from the 2020 to 2021 corn stocks.

We have also seen a drastic drop in the futures price of beans. The November board closed Friday at $13.33 and currently on Tuesday morning we are at $12.88. Beans are 56% good-to-excellent which is unchanged from last week but down 10% from 2020. Beans are also maturing faster than 2020, with 93% setting pods and 9% dropping leaves. China continues to make purchases for beans; however, bean exports are falling shorter than expected week-over-week.

As markets are changing, farmers should still be focusing on the profit that is still available for ’20, ’21, and ’22 crops. Talk with your Grain Marketing Specialist to see about making sales and the options we have that could work for all sizes of operations.

Have a great day!

Kasey Baker

Posted on August 25, 2021

The transition from old crop to new crop is starting soon and the trade is reflecting a sooner than expected harvest. This week’s crop ratings reflected 41% corn dented vs. 22% last week and on the same pace as 41% last year. The US bean crop has 88% pods set compared to last week at 81% last year and ahead of the of 87% 5-year pace. Cash remains king and the local cash basis levels are reflecting immediate demand. The Sept/Dec corn spread has chopped around a bit recently and remains flat to start the week.

At the time of this writing, the grain markets are mixed with corn a .02-.03 higher and beans bull spreading with Sept beans up .08 and new crop Nov down .01. The bean spread is telling a big story on demand; however, we would recommend pricing out old crop beans sooner than later as commercials will be shifting over to new crop pricing and basis will be reflected off the new crop contracts soon with Sept. 1st right around the corner.

I wanted to take the opportunity to highlight our FOB program available to producers this fall. We know that everyone is feeling the staff shortage pinch this year, so if that’s you, please call your grain marketing specialist to arrange to have your grain picked up off the farm and hauled to an ALCIVIA location this fall – we are happy to help!

Beth Helding

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