WHEAT HIGHER IN OVERNIGHT TRADING ON EXTREME COLD.

1. Wheat Futures Rise in Overnight Trading on Winterkill Worries
Wheat futures rose in overnight trading after extremely cold weather in the eastern Midwest and the Southern Plains hurt plants that lacked snow cover.

“Winterkill was noted in west-central Illinois, southern Iowa, and northern Missouri over the weekend,” said Donald Keeney, a senior agricultural meteorologist at MDA Information Services. “Very cold conditions yesterday resulted in some widespread winterkill damage in southern Nebraska, much of Kansas, eastern Colorado, northwest Oklahoma, and northwest Texas as snow cover there remains thin.”

Temperatures are expected to moderate as the week goes on, he said.
Wheat futures for March delivery rose 1¼¢ to $4.10½ a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Kansas City futures added 3¼¢ to $4.18 a bushel.

Corn and soybeans were lower overnight as investors focus on supply rather than demand. U.S. growers likely harvested record crops this fall, boosting supplies of both commodities. While demand has been strong due to low prices and easily available supplies, it may not be enough to underpin prices, analysts have said.

Corn futures for March delivery fell 1½¢ to $3.54¾ a bushel in Chicago.
Soybean futures for January delivery declined 5¢ to $10.31¾ a bushel overnight. Soy meal dropped $1.50 to $315.60 a short ton, and soy oil fell 0.07¢ to 36.67¢ a pound.2. Speculators Lower Bets on Higher Soybeans, Lower Corn Second Straight Week

Speculative investors lowered their net-long positions, or bets on higher prices, in soybeans and were more bearish on corn for a second straight week, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report.

Investors were net-long 121,859 soybean futures contracts, down from 124,758 the prior week, the second consecutive decline, the CFTC said in a report on Friday. Speculators raised their net-short positions, or bets on lower prices, in corn futures by 5.5% to 69,050 contracts, according to the agency.

Bearish factors – including ample supplies after record corn and bean harvests along with improved weather in parts of South America, which could add to the glut – have investors concerned that prices will decline as the new year approaches.

U.S. growers likely produced 15.2 billion bushels of corn on yields of 175.3 bushels an acre and 4.36 billion bushels of soybeans on yields of 52.5 bushels an acre, all record highs, according to the Department of Agriculture.

The bearishness, however, comes amid strong demand for U.S. supplies. Exporters in the week that ended on December 8 sold more than 1.5 million metric tons of corn and 2 million tons of soybeans to overseas buyers.3. Extremely Low Temperatures Have Wheat Farmers on Winterkill Watch
Extremely low temperatures in parts of the Southern Plains have winter wheat growers watching their plants for winterkill.

Temperatures in Guymon, Oklahoma, in the state’s panhandle hovered at about 3˚F., while Amarillo, Texas, was at 6˚F., according to the National Weather Service.

Winterkill occurs when plants that lack a protective layer of snow are expose to temperatures that stay below freezing for more than a few hours. The so-called polar vortex has left the weather much colder than normal, though temperatures are expected to moderate as the week progresses, the NWS
BY TONY DREIBUS.

said.
Wind chills this weekend from -20˚F. to -30˚F. in much of the Upper Midwest.

SIGNIFICANT COST SAVINGS WITH USED PRECISION AG EQUIPMENT.

The solution to Kory Schafer and Adam Babl’s problem of finding an affordable guidance system for their sprayer presented itself at their local dealership.

“The sprayer [a John Deere 4710] wasn’t equipped with either guidance control or rate and section control,” says Schafer. He and Babl co-own GKS Farms of Albion, Nebraska. “We farm in 20-inch rows and spray across the rows, and we wanted to run in previous tracks on a second spraying. So guidance was a must.”

Schafer (pictured above, left) and Babl turned to a used monitor and receiver that were being sold by Green Line Equipment in their Albion, Nebraska, outlet. “We priced a new unit. With the price of corn and soybeans, we needed something more affordable,” Babl says.

The used Deere GreenStar 1800 display, loaded with guidance and sprayer control, and a StarFire iTC receiver were purchased for 35% to 40% less than a new display and receiver by the farming team. “We also had the activation fee for RTK,” Schafer adds.

GKS Farms joins a growing list of farmers who are capitalizing on the savings gained by purchasing used precision equipment. “Our business started taking off around six years ago,” says Jon Bickel of Used Precision Ag. “I notice there are now quite a few websites such as ours that are listing equipment.”

Bickel began buying, selling, and consigning used precision 12 years ago. The equipment he sells is reconditioned (which includes removing old data and upgrading firmware) and includes a three- to five-year warranty. “The big change since then is, besides a growth in business, now farmers realize that the used monitors or receivers in their equipment have value.”

The latest and fastest-growing category of used equipment at John Deere’s dealer site, machinefinder.com, is precision ag. At press time, that site had nearly 1,000 listings of displays, controllers, receivers, cabling, and activations.

Dealerships like Green Line Equipment have begun removing precision gear from trade-ins and listing the items on their websites.

“We noticed that lots of monitors and displays were being stored on shelves never to be used again, both on farms and at our dealerships,” notes Ashley Babl of Green Line (wife of Adam Babl). “We saw the potential in repurposing that equipment, especially now that commodity prices are lower. Farmers are looking for values.”

The advantage for a dealership, Ashley feels, is the opportunity to give farmers – who couldn’t afford that new precision equipment – a way to “maximize the bottom line and to cut input costs,” she says. “If we can help by selling a used sprayer section control, for example, and that saves money, then we’re providing a much-needed service in today’s economy.” BY DAVE MOWITZ.
GKS Farms’ first purchase has already whetted Schafer and Babl’s appetite for similar equipment. They’re now looking for used guidance gear for their primary tillage tractor.

SIDEWAYS CORN TRADE FOR REST OF 2016, SAYS ANALYST.

Slightly defensive trade was seen today, which might have simply been attributed to some pullback going into the end of the week closer to a more middle of the road price level.

It was another strong week of demand, which could raise the level we should expect support to come into this market. Last week the low price in March was 350 1/4 and today's low was 353 1/2, which might already be showing the added support from strong demand.

It's tough to suggest much movement for either direction over the next two weeks.


 News will remain slow and volume will also continue to slow, which continues to suggest sideways trade to the end of the year. Corn traders should pay attention to outside markets for short-term direction and watch news in beans and wheat just as much as corn. Let's still expect resistance in the 360's with initial support found in the low 350's with strong support anywhere in the 340's.

Bulls

• As long as demand continues strong there is reason to expect better support and even possibly reach closer to 370
• Bulls can look for better support but want to avoid looking at breaking 369 resistance simply due to low volume trade the next two weeks. BY RICH NELSON.

Bears

• Wheat could be the market which would most likely weigh on corn short term, bears will want to watch wheat closely
• Most important over anything else right now bears will want to see demand slow and take away much of the support currently being seennotice. There is no guarantee that the advice we give will result in profitable trades.

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