Your Pro Farmer newsletter (April 20, 2024) is now available

Corn stunt disease continues to spread in Argentina, causing private crop forecasters to slash their Argentine corn production forecasts and warn of additional losses, though corn futures have responded. In Brazil, recent rains have provided a good portion of safrinha corn areas with topsoil moisture as the rainy season comes to an end. Timeliness of rains through harvest could have a huge impact on final crop size. In the U.S., the winter wheat crop ratings slipped a little, though there was a big divergence with the HRW crop declining and SRW improving. There isn’t severe drought in the Plains, but spring weather will be key in how the crop finishes. The National Weather Service’s extended forecast calls for above-normal temps across most of the U.S. through July, while it’s a mixed picture for the precip outlook, with much of the central U.S. expected to see “equal chances.” On the economic front, the Fed is indicating higher rates for longer to combat sticky inflation, which pushed the U.S. dollar index to five and a half year high. The global economy remains resilient, though concerns about fiscal sustainability, inflation and trade restrictions could impact the trajectory of growth. We cover all of these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.