Agri Blog

Ag Update July 15, 2024

Livestock:
– Cattle slaughter: 601,000 head, down 31,000 from a year ago
– Hog slaughter: 2,386,000 head, up 1.1% from a year ago

Cotton:
– US production: 17 million bales, up from 16 million last month but below 17.6 million expected
– US ending stocks: 5.3 million bales, up from 4.1 million last month and above 5.05 million expected
– World ending stocks: 82.63 million bales, down from 84.28 million expected

Cocoa:
– Ivory Coast port arrivals last week: 18,000 tonnes, down 21% from 21,000 tonnes the same week last year
– Cumulative arrivals since October: 1.63 million tonnes, down 27.8% from last year

Cotton:
– US production: 17 million bales, up from 16 million last month but below 17.6 million expected
– US ending stocks: 5.3 million bales, up from 4.1 million last month and above 5.05 million expected
– World ending stocks: 83.49 million bales, down from 84.28 million expected

RECENT POSTS

How and Why Margin Calls Occur: A Producer’s Guide to Liquidity

TL;DR — The AgOptimus Executive Summary The Reality: Margin calls are liquidity events, not penalties. They occur because futures markets settle daily, while physical crops sell seasonally. The Mismatch: A margin call does not mean a hedge is failing. It often means...

How to Pick the Right Hedge Month for Your Cattle

TL;DR — How to Pick the Right Hedge Month for Your Cattle Match your hedge month to when cattle will likely finish, not when the board looks best today. Weather, health, and feed performance influence finish dates — build flexibility into your plan. If cattle slip or...

Cattle on Feed Report Explained for Cattle Feeders

TL;DR The USDA Cattle on Feed (COF) report drives cattle futures because it reveals real supply: placements, marketings, and on-feed inventory. What matters isn’t the number itself—but how it compares to pre-report estimates. Heavy placements → bearish. Light...

How to Trade Futures Cattle Spreads for Hedging

Futures Cattle Spreads TL;DR A cattle spread is the price difference between two futures months; some feeders trade this difference, not the outright price. Spreads move because of real cattle fundamentals — carcass weights, placements, seasonal flows, packer demand,...