Your Pro Farmer newsletter (April 13, 2024) is now available

USDA’s April crop reports failed to provide any bullish spark for grain markets. USDA cut corn ending stocks 50 million bu., though that was less than traders expected. Soybean and wheat carryover were raised 25 million bu. each. On the global side, USDA made modest changes to the 2023-24 ending stocks forecasts. The lack of a bullish surprise failed to trigger buyer interest. In fact, futures faced pressure immediately after the report data. We have full report details on News page 4. Not surprisingly, USDA remained well above Conab with its Brazilian crop forecasts. Private crop forecasters cut Argentina’s production, especially for corn, given spreading disease pressure. Cases of Bovine Influenza A Virus continue to spread among the U.S. dairy herd, with eight states reporting cases – and that number is likely to climb. On the economic front, March inflation data came in hotter than expected, pushing back odds of the Fed starting rate cuts by midyear. The highest odds are now for the first rate cut in September, with two reductions now expected this year instead of three. We cover all of these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.