Your Pro Farmer newsletter (April 1, 2023) is now available

USDA’s Prospective Plantings and Quarterly Grain Stocks Reports tend to produce big price moves – and this year was no exception. Soybean futures surged in reaction to planting intentions and March 1 stock both coming in lower than expected. March 1 corn stocks came in lower than anticipated, but USDA said farmers intend to plant more acres to corn than traders expected. The wheat data was mostly neutral. China’s string of aggressive U.S. corn purchases continued last week. Since mid-March, China has purchased nearly 3.3 million metric tons (129 million bu.) of U.S. old-crop corn. On the economic front, the concerns with the banking sector have eased for now, though there could be warning signs for smaller lenders. Meanwhile, USDA’s Hogs & Pigs Report was mostly neutral, with the hog herd as of March 1 up fractionally from year-ago, though spring and summer farrowing intentions don’t signal plans for expansion. We cover all of these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.