Feed Ingredients Report: Week Ending Sep. 14, 2018

Weekly Average Price History

Week	Corn	Soybeans	Wheat SRW
Sep. 16, 2018	3.58	8.36	5.13
Sep. 9, 2018	3.54	8.29	4.92
Sep. 2, 2018	3.44	8.26	5.08
Aug. 26, 2018	3.54	8.59	5.26

• Re-write the records: the USDA’s September U.S. corn yield increased 2% to 181.3 bushels per acre, exceeding the upper end of trade expectations. State based hikes were widespread and the largest monthly gains were found through the Midwest, where moisture has been mostly in surplus over the last month. U.S. new crop corn stocks came in as 1.77 billion bushels as a result of the exceptional yield. Demand was overshadowed by the extraordinary yield, but the hike in both old and new crop exports should be noted, as well as an increase in industrial demand for the ethanol grind.
• U.S. soybean yield increased to a record high 52.8 bu/ac, driving production up 2% to 4.69 billion bushels (2.9 million tonnes). The U.S. balance drove the primary adjustments in the USDA’s 2018-19 forecasts.
• Friday’s COT report showed commodity funds selling heavily in wheat and soybean oil, while maintaining positions elsewhere. Funds sold 137,000 wheat contracts, 9,000 bean oil, 6,000 corn, and 5,000 soybeans, while buying 8,000 meal. Funds are now long 33,000 wheat (all combined) and 30,000 soybean meal while being short 63,000 corn, 68,000 soybeans, and 97,000 soybean oil.
• U.S. soybeans are competitive enough in comparison to Brazil to attract Chinese business, but don’t look for robust purchases just yet. They may look to exhaust soybean meal supplies from South America and other oilseed producing nations, such as Ukraine for sunflower meal and India for soybean meal, which brings us to believe Brazil could import soybeans to crush for soybean meal.
• Export sales were moderate this week ahead of the crop report with stronger competition seen from Brazil and the Ukraine. Wheat sales were slow again at 14 million bushels, corn sales were slower than expected at 30.5 million bushels, and soybean sales were average at 25.5 million bushels.
• Year-to-date, wheat sales are down 23.8%, corn sales are up 44.4% to start the new marketing year, soybean sales are up 0.1% to start the new marketing year, meal sales are up 19.5%, and oil sales are down 5.9%.

Weekly Spotlight

The USDA raised corn yield in all the Midwestern states this week with sizable increases in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.