Category: Crop Marketing

Grain and oilseed producers in the Midsouth experienced record low soybean basis, which is the cash price less futures price, in October 2022 due to reduced barge traffic and record high barge freight rates along the lower Mississippi River. These factors were associated with soybean basis as weak as 125 cents under the harvest time futures contract which was nearly one dollar below the 5-year average of 28 cents under for the month of October.  In a previous Southern Ag Today article, Biram et al. (2022) noted the primary reason soybean basis values fell to historic lows was because grain buyers at local elevators were pushed to bid lower cash prices for soybeans to compensate for the additional cost to transport grain from the elevator to the port of New Orleans for export. Further, grain buyers essentially had no place to store the grain even if they wanted to buy it which supports the principle of offering lower cash prices to disincentivize farmers from making delivery.

While we witnessed the association of record-low basis with record-low river levels in the lower Mississippi River last fall, we are now witnessing an association of relatively lower basis and record-high river levels in the upper Mississippi River due primarily to snow melt. As the Mississippi River level increases to flood-level stages, barge traffic is limited as locks and dams along the river are closed, preventing the transportation of grain downriver or empty barges upriver. On April 16th, the Mississippi River gauge height at McGregor, IA, reached 16 feet which is considered a minor flood stage by the United State Geological Survey (USGS, 2023). On April 20th, the gauge height measured at the same location reached a moderate flood stage of 19 feet. On April 28th, the gauge height was measured at 23 feet, above major flood stage of 22 feet, which is the greatest gauge height reported since April 26, 2019, when it measured 22 feet. 

Soybean basis reported in locations along the lower Mississippi River began to diverge from historical trends on April 10th and continue throughout the month of April. Consider the case of soybean basis at Elaine, AR, which is representative of basis reported in other southern states in the region (Figure 1). In this example, I consider the basis for 2023 delivery at harvest time which is the difference of the forward cash price and the November 2023 soybean futures contract (ZSX23). The first reported drop in this specific soybean basis was on April 10th with a fall from 25 cents over to 18 cents over which suggests a local response to the rising upper Mississippi River levels (Figure 1). This weakening of basis is associated with the increase in river gauge height throughout the month of April despite the relatively strong 4-year average basis for years in which the gauge height at McGregor, IA, did not reach moderate or major flood stage (i.e., 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022). The most recent period basis fell below zero in April was in 2019 when it consistently stayed near 40 cents under which is another period in which the upper Mississippi River experienced record-high levels.

The river level in the upper Mississippi River is starting to fall and with it will most likely come relatively stronger soybean basis in the Midsouth if the historical association between these two variables continues. Additionally, forward cash prices typically reach their strongest in early summer before declining as we approach the harvest months. One implication for a grain marketing plan would be to consider holding off on the May forward contracting decision for 2023 harvest-time delivery until the latter part of the month in anticipation of recovery in the  soybean basis.

Figure 1. Spring Soybean Basis at Elaine, AR and Mississippi River Gauge Height at McGregor, IA (2018-2023)

Note: The Nonflood Four-Year Average is calculated using the years when the gauge height at this location did not reach moderate or major flood stage.

References

Biram, Hunter, John Anderson, Scott Stiles, and Andrew McKenzie. “Low Water Levels in the Mississippi River Result in Abnormally Weak Soybean Basis“. Southern Ag Today 2(45.1). October 31, 2022. Permalink

Report-Arkansas Daily Grain Bids | MARS, https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov/viewReport2960

Mississippi River at Mcgregor, IA – 05389500, United States Geological Survey. May 3, 2023.https://waterdata.usgs.gov/monitoring-location/05389500/#parameterCode=00065&timeSeriesId=43560&startDT=2023-04-01&endDT=2023-04-30

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Biram, Hunter. “Flooding in the Upper Mississippi River is Associated with Relatively Weak Soybean Basis in the Midsouth.” Southern Ag Today 3(21.1). May 22, 2023. Permalink

Photo by Tom Fisk: https://www.pexels.com/photo/mississippi-river-during-golden-hour-14819622/

On May 12^th, USDA released the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report. The May WASDE is significant as it provides USDA’s first official projections for the 2023 marketing year. The report provides annual forecasts for the supply and use of various crops based on marketing years, which start August 1 for cotton and rice and September 1 for corn and soybeans. It should also be noted that projections for production are based on the acreage reported in the March 31^st USDA Prospective Plantings report and yield forecasts based on trend models or historical yields depending on the crop. Thus, the projections in Table 1 and discussed below will change as the growing season and marketing year advance. 

U.S. corn production is projected at 15,265 million bushels, based on 84.1 million harvested acres and a national average yield per harvested acre of 181.5 bushels. If realized, this would be a record yield and level of corn production. Combined with carryover stocks from last year, the total U.S. corn supply is projected to be 10% higher than in 2022. This supply increase is offset by a 5% increase in total use. Feed use is projected to increase by 375 million bushels, and ethanol to increase by 50 million bushels. Exports are projected to be up 18%, at 2,100 million bushels. Corn ending stocks are projected at 2,222 million bushels, a 57% increase from 2022. The average farm price is projected at $4.80 per bushel. 

Like corn, U.S. soybeans are projected to see higher supplies and lower prices in 2023. U.S. soybean production is projected to be 4,510 million bushels, a 5% increase from 2022. Most of the production increase is due to a higher expected yield of 52 bushels per harvested acre – also a record if realized. On the demand side, domestic crushings are projected to increase by 90 million bushels from 2022, but exports are projected to decrease by 40 million bushels. With supplies outpacing demand, ending stocks are projected at 335 million bushels, a 56% increase. 

U.S. cotton is projected to plant less acreage in 2023 but will see higher production than in 2022. The 2022 cotton crop saw a record level of abandonment, with 13.76 million acres planted but only 7.31 million acres harvested, mainly due to dry conditions in Texas. Currently, USDA projects 11.26 million acres planted with 8.71 million acres harvested. It will be important to keep an eye on acres abandoned as the year advances, with growing conditions in West Texas remaining dry. In the May WASDE, U.S. cotton production is projected at 15.50 million bales, a 7% increase from 2022. On the demand side, exports are expected to increase by 0.9 million bales to 13.5 million bales. With higher exports, cotton ending stocks are projected to decrease by 0.20 million bales to 3.30 million bales. The average farm price is projected to weaken to 78 cents per pound. 

Lastly, the carryover of long-grain rice from 2022 is low at 16.8 million hundredweight but is more than offset by higher production. Long-grain rice production is projected to increase by 11% to 142 million hundredweight. Exports are expected to increase by 4.0 million hundredweight to 52 million, but any further expansion is expected to be challenged by competition from South America. Ending stocks are projected to remain flat at 16.8 million hundredweight, the same as in 2022. Like other crops, the average farm price is projected lower to $15.00 hundredweight. Unlike other crops, though, the long-grain rice price is projected to remain above its 2021 price. 

Overall, the USDA WASDE report projects a bearish supply and demand picture and lower prices compared to last year. There remains a large amount of uncertainty for the 2023 crop; however, USDA’s initial projections indicate lower prices for many southern row crops. Actual planted acreage, weather, and crop growth are some of the main factors that will determine if lower prices becomes a reality.

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Maples, William E. “Higher Supplies and Lower Prices Projected for U.S. Crops in 2023.” Southern Ag Today 3(20.1). May 15, 2023. Permalink

USDA’s Prospective Plantings report on March 31 showed U.S. farmers intend to increase corn acres from 88.6 million in 2022 to 92.0 million in 2023. Of the 3.4-million-acre national increase, 865,000 acres or about 25%, are in the South: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.   Of these 13 states, 10 show increases of 10 percent or more (Figure 1). Only Texas and Florida show a decrease in corn acres year to year.  One influence for an increase in corn across the South in 2023 was that the harvest futures price of corn this winter and early spring was high relative to the harvest futures price of cotton. The 10 states with an increase in corn acres decreased cotton acres by 789,000.  Texas farmers indicated they intend to plant 100,000 fewer acres of corn, 1.650 million fewer acres of cotton but 1.4 million more acres of wheat and increase hay harvested area by 610,000 acres.  

The South planted 9.370 million acres of corn in 2022. The prospective plantings survey showed intentions to plant 10.235 million in 2023.

Figure 1. 2023 Corn Planted Acreage, “Prospective Plantings”

In 2000, the average corn yield in the South was 120.8 bushels per acre compared to 136.9 bushels per acre nationally. Since that time, corn yield increases in the South have kept pace with the rate of corn yield increases nationally, both about 1.8 bushels per year (Figure 2). Notable is the greater degree in yield variability in the South compared to the national average.  In the 23 years since 2000, corn yields in the South have been above or below the trendline yield by more than 10% seven times: -14%, 2002; +11 %, 2004; -15%, 2011; -12%, 2012; +13%, 2013; +11%, 2014; -11%, 2022. The national corn yield has only been above or below trend by 10% or more twice in that same period of time: +11% in 2004; -22% in 2012.

Figure 2. Corn Yields: South and U.S. with trendlines and projections to 2023 (bushels r acre)

Trendline yield growth in 11 southern states has exceeded the national average, three below average – NC, OK, and TX (Figure 3). Texas, the state with the largest corn acreage in this region, has essentially had  no change in average yields since 2000. 

Figure 3. Trendline Yield Increase, 2000 to 2022 (bushels per acre)

Based on the prospective plantings survey, 10-year average percent harvested calculations, and the trendline yield projection, corn production in the South would increase by 308 million bushels in 2023 compared to 2022.  

Table 1. 2022 Corn Production in the South with Projections for 2023

Since 2000, corn production in the South has averaged 8.9 percent of total U.S. corn production, with a low of 7.5 percent in 2006 to a high of 11.0 percent in 2013 (USDA, NASS, 2023c) (Figure 4). As a share of total U.S. production, corn in the South increases from 8.3 percent in 2022 to 9.7 percent projected for 2023.  This percentage is consistent with the increasing importance of southern corn production to the U.S. corn supply. However, the broad range of growing conditions across the South means yield variability in that supply is more likely year to year.

Figure 4. South’s Share of U.S. Corn Production

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References

USDA, NASS (a), “Grain Stocks, “Prospective Plantings, Rice Stocks Agricultural Statistics Board Briefing”, March 31, 2023, https://www.nass.usda.gov/Newsroom/Executive_Briefings/2023/03-31-2023.pdf

USDA, NASS (b), “Prospective Plantings”, March 31, 2023, https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/x633f100h/rv044597v/gx41nz573/pspl0323.pdf

USDA, NASS (c), Quick Stats, accessed April 18, 2023,  https://quickstats.nass.usda.gov/.

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Welch, Mark. “The Importance of Corn Production in the South to the U.S. Corn Supply.“ Southern Ag Today 3(19.1). May 8, 2023. Permalink

Photo by David Dibert: https://www.pexels.com/photo/corn-plantation-during-daytime-5001990/

Fertilizer prices have come down from the peak in April 2022 (Figure 1), however fertilizer prices remain elevated compared to 2017 through 2020. In 2021 and 2022, high fertilizer prices coincided with high corn prices, resulting in positive profit margins for many producers, especially those that were not affected by adverse weather. Since August 2022, Henry Hub Natural Gas Prices have declined sharply. Natural gas is a key input in the production of nitrogen fertilizer accounting for 70-90% of variable production costs (Outlaw et al. 2022). Two important questions for many producers are how related are these prices and how does this relationship potentially impact profitability in 2023? To examine this, we look at the historical relationship between corn, urea, and natural gas prices.

Figure 1. Weekly Urea, Natural Gas, and Nearby Corn Futures Price, January 2, 2017, to March 27, 2023

Nitrogen, natural gas, and corn prices are positively correlated (correlation describes the strength of an association between two variables, positive correlation indicates that prices move in the same direction, negative correlation indicates prices move in opposite directions; correlation coefficients have values between -1 and 1). Examining weekly price data from January 2017 to March 2023, natural gas and urea prices were positively correlated (0.738), natural gas and corn prices were positively correlated (0.668), and urea and nearby corn futures prices were positively correlated (0.906).  All three variables are strongly positively correlated. However, there are event-based anomalies in the data that create temporary deviations in the relationship between prices. For example, natural gas prices briefly spiked in February 2021 during a winter storm that strained natural gas and electricity markets in Texas and Oklahoma (USEIA, 2022). It is also important to note that correlation does not indicate causation. In other words, a higher natural gas or urea price does not necessarily cause higher corn prices, and vice versa.  However, the takeaway from this figure and correlations for natural gas, corn, and urea prices are they tend to move in the same direction. 

Over the past year, natural gas and urea prices have decreased substantially from recent highs. Urea prices have fallen from $1,031/ton to $626/ton (down 39%) and natural gas prices have fallen $9.56 to $2.01 (down 79%). Nearby corn prices have decreased from $8.13 ½ to $6.60 ½ (down 19%). Based on the realized decline in natural gas prices, the downward trend in urea prices, and the historical correlations above, further weakness in corn futures prices may occur in 2023. There are many factors that will influence corn (and other commodity) prices, such as weather and geopolitical uncertainty, however decreased prices for natural gas and urea provides some indication that weaker corn prices may occur in the not-too-distant future. 

From a profitability standpoint for the 2023 crop year, many producers locked in fertilizer prices last fall or early in 2023. In general, those that priced earlier will have higher fertilizer costs than those that priced later. Producers that have locked in fertilizer prices for the 2023 crop may want to consider locking in futures prices for a portion of their crop to avoid a margin squeeze should corn prices decline.

References:

Barchart.com. Nearby Corn Historical Weekly Closing Prices. Accessed at: https://www.barchart.com/futures/quotes/ZCK23/historical-download

Outlaw, J.L., B.L. Fischer, H.L. Bryant, and J.M. Roulston. 2022. “Economic Impact of Nitrogen Prices

on U.S. Corn Producers”.https://fj-corp-pub.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/inline-files/Economic%20Impact%20of%20Nitrogen%20Markets%20on%20U%20HB-1.pdf

U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2023. Natural Gas. Data. Henry Hub Natural Gas Prices. Accessed online at: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdW.htm

U.S. Energy Information Administration. 2022. TODAY IN ENERGY. Accessed online at: https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=50778

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Smith, Aaron, and Christopher Boyer. “Urea, Natural Gas, and Corn Price Correlations.” Southern Ag Today 3(18.1). May 1, 2023. Permalink

In 2022, the U.S. had a sizable decrease in peanut acreage, as farmers shifted cropland to more cotton acres across the region. This was likely due to price pressure from other crops around planting time in 2022, most notably cotton. However, with the average peanut price received by farmers projected to reach a ten-year high for the 2022/2023 marketing year – at an estimated $540 per ton – what is peanut acreage expected to look like in 2023?

The USDA projects planted peanut acres to increase by 7%, reaching 1.547 million acres nationwide in 2023 (figure 1).^[i] This increase in projected peanut acreage comes as prices for other crops have dropped. As of April 20^th, December 2023 cotton futures closed at 80.58 cents per lb, which is 40.44 cents per lb less than what December 2022 cotton futures were traded at on the same date last year. The rise in peanut acreage is driven by forecasted increases in two of the three peanut-producing regions – the Southeast and Virginia-Carolina. None of the peanut producing states in these two regions are expected to see declines in planted acreage compared to last year. Georgia is projected to lead the way with 740 thousand planted peanut acres, which would mark an 8% increase from 2022. Conversely, the three peanut-producing states in the Southwest region are all expected to decrease acres planted to the crop in 2023, which has possibly come at the expense of their large increases in wheat acreage this year. 

Figure 1. 2023 U.S. Intended Peanut Planted Acres Compared to Previous Year, by State

Now, how accurate have peanut planted acreage forecasts been in recent years? Over the past decade, the error in peanut projections has been relatively small. The final peanut planted acreage estimate has exceeded the intended planted acres forecast in four out of the last nine years, by an average of 2.2%. For example, peanut planted acreage ended up being 7.7% lower than was predicted in 2022, as shown in figure 2. The accuracy of the intended peanut plantings is similar to those for rice and cotton – two other predominantly Southern crops – which are typically less accurately predicted than nationwide crops, such as corn and soybeans.^[i]

Figure 2. U.S. Peanut Intended Planted Acres vs. Final Estimates, 2019-2023

With peanut prices elevated for last year’s crop, it remains uncertain how increased planted acreage would affect peanut markets moving forward. Last year’s decrease in peanut acreage led to an almost 400-thousand ton drop in peanut production.^[i] While peanut acreage is expected to be above last year’s level, the forecasted mark would fall short of what was planted in 2020 and 2021. Coupled with the lower expected peanut consumption this current marketing year, a bumper crop could see peanut stocks soar and prices decline during the 2023/2024 marketing year, whereas a more moderate crop could see stocks remain at a similar level to where they are currently. In all, combining the projected higher peanut production with the lower competition from other crops, it is likely that peanut contract prices for this year’s crop will decrease.

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^[i] Sawadgo, Wendiam. “2023 Peanut Market Outlook.” Southern Ag Today 3(8.1). February 20, 2023. Permalink

^[i] Biram, Hunter, and William E. Maples. “Key Takeaways and Reliability of the 2023 Prospective Plantings Report.” Southern Ag Today 3(14.1). April 1, 2023. Permalink

^[i] USDA-NASS. Prospective Plantings. March 31, 2023.  Available at: https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/x633f100h/rv044597v/gx41nz573/pspl0323.pdf

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Sawadgo, Wendiam. “Peanut Acreage Projected to Increase in 2023.” Southern Ag Today 3(17.1). April 24, 2023. Permalink

Photo by Marina Leonova: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-shot-of-peanuts-7717463/