Carl German, Extension Crops Marketing Specialist; clgerman@udel.edu
Commodity Prices Ratchet Up on Crop Production Concerns
New crop corn and soybean futures prices moved to new life of contract highs in yesterday’s trading due to crop development problems from late plantings and wet weather in the Corn Belt. At this point in time, both acreage planted and yield potential for ’08 U.S. corn and soybean production are being viewed by commodity traders as relatively unknown. The row crop production concerns are having an impact on commodity prices across the board. Currently, Dec ’08 corn futures are trading at $7.44/bushel; Nov ’08 soybean futures are trading at $15.03/bushel; and July ’08 SRW wheat is trading at $8.59 per bushel. The extreme volatility in these markets continues to play havoc with projecting price direction from a technical perspective and, ultimately, in making informed grain sales decisions.
This may turn out to be the year that Options on Agricultural Futures play an important role in farmer’s grain marketing decisions. Toward that end, an Options Webinar is being offered on Tuesday, June 17th from 1:00 pm to 2:00 p.m. ET. The webinar is being sponsored by Farm Journal Media; the University of Delaware; and the Northeast Center for Risk Management Education. Topics to be covered include:
Put Option Basics – Carl German, Extension Crops Marketing Specialist, University of Delaware
How to Choose the Right Put Option – Brian Grete, Senior Market Analyst, Pro Farmer
How to Hire a Broker (human or electronic) – John Phipps, Farmer and Host, U.S. Farm Report
To register for the webinar go to www.agweb.com, look for and click on the icon that reads Free Put Options Essentials Webinar – June 17th Noon to 1:00 p.m. Central Time. Please Note, the time for the webinar in the Eastern Time Zone is 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET.
For technical assistance on making grain marketing decisions contact Carl L. German, Extension Crops Marketing Specialist