Corn and soybean futures finished lower at week’s end, according to reports from national market coverage. The pullback follows a stretch of choppy trade where prices have been reacting to headline risk—especially anything tied to export demand—and shifting expectations around U.S. biofuel policy. For Montana producers, daily moves on the Chicago Board of Trade can […]
Montana producers are heading into one of those late-June windows when a single USDA number can move markets fast. Reports indicate corn and soybean futures were softer in overnight trade as traders positioned ahead of USDA acreage data. Whether you raise wheat on the Hi-Line, put up hay in the Bitterroot Valley, or background calves […]
Grain markets are heading into another high-volatility stretch, and that matters in Montana even if you don’t raise an acre of corn or soybeans. Reports indicate recent strength in corn and soybean futures has been tied to energy markets and global uncertainty, and traders are now squaring up positions ahead of major USDA updates that […]
Fresh numbers out of USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report are giving the cattle trade something to chew on as spring work ramps up across Montana. Reports indicate U.S. feedlot placements during February were higher than a year ago, while marketings were lower. That combination doesn’t automatically mean “good” or “bad” for Montana ranch country—but […]
New USDA Cattle on Feed numbers suggest U.S. feedlots brought in more cattle than a year ago while shipping fewer out. That combination can matter for price direction, timing of marketings, and even what happens to feed demand—topics that hit close to home from the Hi-Line to the Bitterroot Valley. According to reports summarizing the […]
Reports indicate cattle futures moved lower going into the end of the week as traders waited for clearer signals from cash trade and upcoming USDA data. That kind of pullback doesn’t automatically translate into an immediate hit to Montana sale barn prices, but it does shape the tone for buyers, risk managers, and feedyard demand—especially […]
USDA’s latest supply-and-demand update kept projected U.S. ending stocks for corn, soybeans, and wheat essentially unchanged from the previous month, according to reports from Brownfield Ag News. In plain terms, the agency didn’t add a new bullish or bearish shock to the balance sheets—at least not on paper. For Montana producers, “no change” doesn’t mean […]
USDA daily export reporting has the market’s attention again after reports indicated a fresh “flash sale” of U.S. corn to an unknown destination. These announcements don’t always move prices by themselves, but they can shape trader sentiment—especially when they show up during key planning windows for the next marketing year. For Montana agriculture, the immediate […]
Montana ranchers don’t need a lecture on corn to feel corn prices. Even in a state where hay, pasture and barley do a lot of the heavy lifting, the national corn balance sheet still leaks into local feed bids, backgrounding budgets and what it costs to finish cattle. That’s why the USDA’s March crop reports—especially […]
Montana producers don’t plant much corn compared to the Midwest, but corn prices still reach into every corner of the state—from feed bills on the Hi-Line to backgrounding yards in the Yellowstone Valley and hay pricing in the Bitterroot and Gallatin valleys. That’s why the USDA’s March reports, particularly the Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks […]