Evening Report | July 24, 2023

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Corn conditions unchanged… As of Sunday, USDA at 57% of the corn crop as “good” to “excellent,” unchanged from last week and below expectations by one percentage point. The amount of crop rated “poor” to “very poor” also remained unchanged at 13%.

Corn silking advanced to 68%, up from 47% a week earlier and is 10% ahead of year-ago.

Soybean conditions decline…USDA rated 54% of the crop as “good” to “excellent” a one percentage-point drop from the previous week, while traders expected ratings to remain unchanged. The portion of the crop rated “poor” to “very poor” rose one percentage point to 14%.

Cotton condition improves…USDA rated 46% of the crop as “good” to “excellent,” a one-point increase from the previous week. The amount of crop rated “poor” to “very poor” declined four-percentage points to 24%. The Texas crop was rated 24% “good” to “excellent” and 40% “poor” to “very poor.”

Cotton development was in-line with the five-year averages with 78% of crop squaring and 37% setting bolls.

Spring wheat conditions decline…USDA trimmed the crop’s “good” to “excellent” rating by two percentage points, while traders were expecting ratings to remain unchanged. The portion of the crop rated “poor” to “very poor” rose two points. The spring wheat crop in top producer, North Dakota was rated 54% “good” to “excellent” and 18% “poor” to “very poor.”

USDA reported 94% of the spring wheat crop was headed, up from 86% the previous week and in-line with the five-year average.

Winter wheat harvest still behind…USDA estimated harvest at 68% complete, up from 56% the previous week, but still behind the five-year average of 77% complete. Harvest stood at 48% in Colorado (84% average), 43% in Nebraska (74% average) and 2% in Montana (11% average).

Senior U.S. Treasury official to raise Russia grain deal…A top U.S. Treasury official will highlight Washington’s efforts to facilitate Russian grain and fertilizer exports during a visit to Kenya and Somalia and stress that Moscow’s exit from the Black Sea grain deal will hurt African states, according to a spokesperson.

EPA unveiled a draft strategy…aimed at addressing the impact of herbicides on endangered species. They have plans to simplify consultations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that have been traditionally lengthy procedures. This method will involve blending population-level protections with mitigations to decrease species’ exposure to herbicides through spray drift, runoff and erosion.

 The proposed plan offers flexibility for growers to choose suitable mitigations according to their specific situations. Jake Li, deputy assistant administrator for pesticide programs in EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, said the strategy is a significant step towards providing farmers and other herbicide users with the tools to manage weeds while protecting endangered species that inhabit agricultural regions.

 The strategy notes that EPA has struggled to handle its Endangered Species Act (ESA) responsibilities due to a high workload, leading to a surge in successful litigation against the agency. Historically, it would take between 4-12 years to meet the ESA obligations for a pesticide due to analysis and consultations with the Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service.

The document also indicates that even if the Agency completed all pending consultations, the process would stretch until the 2040s and would only cover just 5% of ESA obligations. The plan currently centers only on the species listed by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

 EPA also is looking at creating four pesticide use limitation areas (PULAs), which will require mitigation efforts. The PULAs will help diminish exposure levels to listed plants and certain animals that have critical links to these plants.

 Finally, the EPA may exempt growers from specific runoff/erosion requirements in the proposed strategy if they participate in certain conservation programs, like those run by USDA.

The White House today.. stated that President Biden is against the fiscal year (FY) 2024 Agriculture, Food and Drug Administration, and other related agencies' funding bill as well as the FY 2024 military construction and Veterans Department appropriations bills. The Office of Management and Budget criticized House Republicans for proposing partisan bills that slash domestic spending below the Fiscal Responsibility Act agreement levels, thereby risking crucial services for Americans. It emphasized that these cuts would lead to significant reductions in areas such as climate change and clean energy initiatives, indispensable nutrition services, law enforcement, consumer safety, and the sectors of education and healthcare.