Grain Crop Concerns Emerge

Hey Folks, if you have a moment could you please answer this question on a poll regarding chicken on your menus please? Click here to access the poll.

A lot of the commodity markets remained downtrodden like Eeyore last week with chicken wings, pork bellies, table eggs and cheese (more on this in a moment) continuing to price at attractive levels for buyers. Conversely, beef prices remained Thurston Howell expensive (I know, two childhood tv references in a row...sorry). And don't look now but the corn markets have firmed (more on this in a moment too).

So how cheap is cheese you ask? The CME cheese block average last week fell below $1.40 per pound for the first time since the Covid panic sell off in the spring of 2020. If you take away that period, CME cheese blocks were the lowest in 53 (think Bobby Abreu....tough player) months. As the chart shows, CME cheese blocks have not traded appreciably below last week's average for an extended period of time since at least 2015.

Corn isn't cheap and don't look now but the spot market has risen nearly 11 percent during the last four weeks to its most expensive level since mid-April. Welcome to the weather markets folks and unfortunately, Mother Nature has become an Angry Elf against these crops. Rainfall in May this year for the primary corn and soybean crop area in the U.S. stood at just 2.55 inches. To put this in perspective, and you know I love to do so, total precipitation for the region was the lowest for any May since the New York Rangers were on their way to winning their last Stanley Cup in 1994. Stay tuned!

Datum FS has research and forecasts for over 50 commodities comprising various beef, dairy, grains, pork and chicken markets. If you would like to learn more about a complimentary trial to the forecasts and commentary or about Datum FS services visit?www.datumfs.com. Thanks for reading.