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Fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz are picking up steam following an interim deal to end the Iran war, Reuters reported, but noted that analysts don’t expect a quick return to pre-conflict levels. Around a third of globally traded urea – the world’s most widely used fertilizer – moved through the Strait before the war. The report, citing data from CRU and Argus, said around 640,000 tons of sulfur and 427,000 tons of urea have left the strait since the peace deal, compared with a total of just 80,000 tons during the 3 ½ month war. Sulfur is critical in making fertilizers like diammonium phosphate.
- “The flows trickling through the strait are a relief. But at the same time, the majority will be against old sales. They’re not going to provide fresh tonnages to the market,” said Sarah Marlow, head of fertilizer pricing for Argus, told Reuters.
Watch northwest Corn Belt: A mini-heatwave is in store for the central and interior eastern U.S. this weekend as a high-pressure ridge evolves. Meteorologist Drew Lerner of World Weather Inc. warned in a Friday afternoon note that high relative humidity and temperatures in the 90s to near and slightly above 100 Fahrenheit will result in serious livestock stress while also impacting human outdoor activity. “Crops, however, may benefit from the warmer weather – at least for a little while after a lengthy period of frequent rain and mild temperatures. A close watch on the northwestern Corn Belt may be warranted since that area has been drier biased for a while,” he wrote. In the meantime, recent wet weather has the moisture profile mostly favorable in other Midwest, Delta and central Plains crop areas, Lerner added.
Trump says Iran violated ceasefire: President Donald Trump on Friday said Iran violated the ceasefire agreement by firing drones at a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, but didn’t say what action the U.S. would take against Iran. The flare-up underlines a continued disagreement over the fate of the crucial waterway, but didn’t spark a rally in the oil market, where crude this week tumbled back to prewar levels.
- Brent crude fell 4.3% to close at $71.99 a barrel, its lowest since Feb. 26. WTI fell 3.7% to $69.23, its lowest close since Feb. 27, according to Dow Jones Newswires.
API favors House-passed E15 bill: The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group representing heavyweight energy producers, urged lawmakers to focus on a House-passed bill as the best vehicle for year-round sales of the E15 ethanol blend. “The bipartisan House-passed legislation to make year-round E15 permanent, paired with targeted reforms to support independent small refiners, provides the right path forward by delivering long-term certainty for consumers, strengthening the U.S. fuel supply and expanding choice at the pump,” said Will Hupman, API VP of downstream policy, according to Agri-Pulse The Senate has no plans to take up the House bill, with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, working to bring new legislation to the floor. The report noted that the standalone House bill is seen as too divisive to win the 60-vote supermajority required to overcome a potential filibuster. The House bill included provisions that would change exemptions from blending requirements for small refineries, which the API sees as crucial.
Agri-Pulse also reported that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman expects lE15 language to be included in a nearly $90 billion supplemental government funding package, as called for on Wednesday by President Donald Trump.
New regenerative ag rule: USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins on Thursday announced a long-awaited regenerative feedstock rule that the department said would help farmers “voluntarily capture new value from regenerative agricultural practices through biofuel markets.” At the same time, President Trump signed an executive order supporting regenerative agriculture by promoting advances in precision-agriculture technologies and boosting federal investment in regenerative agriculture practices.The order also calls for expedited approval of new pesticide active ingredients.
China and the ‘Cotton Road’: Benin is Africa’s largest cotton producer, but lacked the infrastructure needed to connect its northern cotton-growing belt to the coast and processing plants in the Glo-Djigbé Industrial Zone (GDIZ) near Cotonou, the country’s largest city and economic capital. The South China Morning Post reported on Beijing’s bankrolling of a 184km (114-mile) road from Djougou in the northwest to Banikoara in the northeast. The project was co-financed by the European Union and the Africa Growing Together Fund, a US$2 million facility funded by the People’s Bank of China and administered by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB).
The report said Beijing’s agricultural involvement in Benin is also expanding through a bilateral assistance program, with Chinese agronomy experts providing technical support to increase cotton yields and upgrade farming methods.
June 30 acreage report looms: Tuesday brings one of the most anticipated and potentially hectic trading days of the year for corn and soybean markets when USDA releases its June Acreage report alongside its latest Quarterly Stocks report.
Anticipation around acreage is running particularly high this year as a result of fluctuations in fertilizer prices as a result of the Iran war. Excessively wet weather in parts of the Corn Belt may also leave doubt about whether the report will offer the final word on acres. Also fresh in mind for producers and traders are the large acreage adjustments made well after last year’s June 30 report, which served to further rattle faith in USDA data. Pro Farmer’s Spencer Langford breaks down the expectations, historical reactions and everything else you need to know to get ready for one of the most crucial reports of the year: Will USDA cut corn acres Tuesday? Iran war, wet weather cloud June 30 report.