This week on SUNUP, OSU Agriculture Economist Dr. John Michael Riley discusses the highs and lows of current grain and cotton markets.
Going into summer, the wheat markets have been trending upwards over the past couple of weeks. The wheat futures market was at $5.42 at the time of recording, up $0.32 from two weeks ago.
In Oklahoma, wheat harvest has begun with the USDA’s latest Crop Progress Report showing 4% of the crop harvested, down 5% from the five-year average. Nationally, 3% of the wheat crop is harvested, on track with the five-year average.
“Overall, the crop is looking pretty good,” Riley said of the crop conditions. “Fifty-five percent good to excellent here in Oklahoma; 53 percent good to excellent across the nation.”
According to Riley, if the weather continues as predicted, wheat prices should continue to rise, because the crop may be damaged. The Oklahoma Wheat Commission reported more producers than normal, saying that they may not even harvest their crop this year.
“The good to excellent ratings are saying something different,” Dr. Riley said. “So, if the weather does progress in the way that we think it’s going to happen, we are potentially going to see some damage to the crop and maybe some lower bushels per acre, which could reduce supply, which is going to have a positive impact on price.”
Soybeans were at $10.20 on the futures market, down $0.30 from two weeks ago. Corn dropped $0.15 in the futures market in the last two weeks.
Regarding summer crops, Riley said, “We are in that uncertain stage of what that crop is going to do. It is that pearl inside the oyster that we really don’t know how it is going to shape out. As the season progresses, we’ll continue to gather more information. Mostly right now, a lot of it is the uncertainty with regard to what trade is going to do now that we are in the midst of the growing season.”
This week on SUNUP:
- Josh Bushong, OSU Extension area agronomist, has an update on the soggy start to wheat harvest.
- Daniel Adamson, OSU Extension soil and water conservation specialist, explains the two types of septic systems and how saturated soils can present some issues.
- In the Mesonet report, state climatologist Gary McManus predicts more rainfall is on the way throughout June.
- John Michael Riley, OSU agricultural economist, says about four percent of Oklahoma’s wheat crop is in the bin. Dr. Riley also discusses the summer crop market and how corn and soybean prices are moving together.
- With the start of harvest, SUNUP looks at the Oklahoma Wheat Commission’s harvest report.
- Mark Johnson, OSU Extension beef cattle breeding specialist, explains why bermudagrass is a quality forage option, but it does require management.
- Finally, Brett Carver continues discussing wheat variety research with SUNUP host Lyndall Stout at the annual Wheat Field Day at the North Central Research Station at Lahoma. In this segment, they talk about the accelerated breeding and testing process of CoAXium varieties.
