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Much needed rains fell across portions of the region over the past two weeks, although the rains were widely scattered. Extremely hot temperatures enveloped most of the region as well, stressing thirsty crops.
Diana DeHart is your Market Advisor Regional Representative serving members in the Western Farm Belt, West and Southwestern United States - Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah.
Click here to download Diana’s virtual business card.
On July 24 I traveled from KC, MO north to St. Paul, MN via I-35. Crop conditions looked relatively good along the way, with a few small pockets of slight dryness in several counties near south/central Iowa. Temps along this route were warm, but not excessive, and crops were green and making up for lost time from late plantings.
I traveled from KC, MO to Ft. Smith, AR on July 29; from there, on to College Station, TX. Conditions got visibly dryer as I traveled south of KC into northern AR. Many of the cattlemen in Western Arkansas have begun liquidating their herds as dryness has increased recently. There were some scattered showers in the western parts of Arkansas and eastern Texas this past weekend, but nothing widespread or significant enough to relieve drought issues.
This week I am attending the Texas A&M Beef Short Course in College Station. The biggest topic of the program was the drought and how to manage the operation in spite of it, along with higher input costs. Weather outlooks do not look promising, according to some meteorologists, and their view of an intact La Niña system. If you haven’t explored what PRF (Pasture, Range & Forage) or LRP (Livestock Risk Protection) can do for you and your livestock operation, please give one of our Insurance Agents a call. Learn how these government subsidized programs, or utilizing a brokerage account for hedging, can help protect your bottom line and your operation.
Below are recent soybean and corn yields estimates from FBN®.
Check out these upcoming events in our region. For more details click here.
Wheat harvest is wrapping up in most areas in my region and, for the most part, quality has been very good for both Hard and Soft Wheat this year. Yields have varied depending on location. Soft wheat areas have seen average to slightly above average yields while Hard wheat areas were all mostly below average yields with some fields a total loss due to drought conditions.
Corn and soybean conditions are a mixed bag in this region as well. Crops in most of Iowa, parts of Nebraska and Northwest Missouri look really good. Although slightly behind average, they have had good amounts of moisture and plenty of GDUs that have helped the crops gain in maturity given some of the late planting dates.
Conditions deteriorate as we move south and west, however. Even in Missouri where NW MO crops look great, we only have to travel a few hours east or south to find drought-stressed crops in need of a drink and some cooler temps.
Traveling south and west through Kansas we see the same situation, dryland crops under stress (dead in some areas) and even irrigated crops struggling to keep up with the 100+ degree days and too warm of temps at night.
Currently the grain market is taking the attitude that the “I” states are improving enough that they will offset losses from states like Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Time will tell if that is the case, but many years we won’t see the market accept anything below the USDA estimated yield until after the harvest is in the bins and the bin doors are shut in the fall.
The drought in parts of this region is not only impacting crop production, but also livestock production. As the southwest is salvaging severely drought stricken corn where possible for forage/feed use, we have seen a great number of cattle sold this summer due to lack of grass/feed. Part of what we do as market advisors/brokers is talk with producers regarding their livestock, especially cattle, and how they manage price volatility in the cattle market.
In addition to, or instead of using futures and options, FBN can work with livestock growers to protect prices using the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) policy. This is a federally-subsidized insurance program used to lock in a floor price for your cattle and protect against a price decline in the marketplace.
Producers need flexibility while being proactive in managing their price risk and LRP offers that opportunity. FBN has Crop Insurance agents licensed to write LRP policies. If you would like to learn more about this product and how to manage your risk, contact your local market advisor who can get you in touch with one of our experienced FBN Crop insurance agents.
Hit and miss rains have led to varying drought indications throughout the country. It's no surprise crop health throughout the region is varying so much. The below NASA Grace map provides a great visual of soil moisture inconsistencies throughout the country (white indicated normal soil moistures levels during this time of the year with colors on the red spectrum indicating drought level and blue spectrum indicating elevated soil moisture levels).
Source: NASA, https://nasagrace.unl.edu/
Check out these upcoming events in our region. For more details click here.
Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association - Norman, OK, July 22-23
Arkansas Cattlemen's Association - Hot Springs, AR, July 28-30
Texas A&M Beef Short Course - College Station, TX, August 1-3
Coming County Fair (stop by our booth!) - West Point, NE, August 11-14
Community Builder events in the following locations:
Fort Dodge, IA, July 12
Huxley, IA, July 13
Keystone, IA, July 14
Anita, IA, July 19
Independence, IA, July 20
Monticello, IA, July 28
Perry, IA, August 4
Marshalltown, IA, August 9
Grinnell, IA, August 10
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