Wheat Rust Outbreak Could Cost Australia Up to $1.4 Billion
Grain Central – 9/6/2018
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) estimates a nation-wide outbreak of the wheat rust strain Ug99 could cost Australia up to $1.4 billion over 10 years. ABARES Executive Director, Dr. Steve Hatfield-Dodds, said the results of a report released today highlight the importance of keeping Austalia’s $6 billion wheat industry free from the invasive disease.
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Australia’s Top Wheat Exporting State Set for Near-Record Crop in Wake of Rains
Reuters – 9/6/2018
Western Australia, the country’s biggest wheat exporting state, is poised for near-record harvests of the crop this year after rains in the region in August, even as the eastern grain belt grapples with its second year of punishing drought. Wheat yields in the state, a key supplier to the world’s biggest importer Indonesia, are expected to be better than average in most areas, analysts and traders said. “Western Australia had very good rains in August and even if it does not rain much in September, the crop is pretty much made,” said Phin Ziebell, an agribusiness economist with National Australia Bank.
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Small Wheat Crop Likely in China
The Western Producer – 9/6/2018
One of Canada’s largest wheat customers will likely increase its purchases in 2018-19, says an analyst. China was Canada’s sixth largest wheat customer through the first 11 months of the 2017-18 crop year, buying nearly one million tonnes during that stretch. And there are signs it will climb the ranks in the current crop year. Xinhua news agency reported Aug. 24 that China would be releasing some of its state stockpiles of wheat due to a disappointing 2018 harvest.
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Basis Shows Quality Wheat Pays
Southwest FarmPress – 9/6/2018
The value (price) of wheat is determined by quantity and quality. Quantity is reflected by the KC wheat contract price, while quality is mostly reflected in the basis. Wheat prices are determined by adding the basis to (or subtracting from, if a negative basis) the nearby KC contract price. At this writing, the KC December contract price is $5.30, and the basis in Burlington, Okla., is minus 10 cents. The Burlington Cooperative Association elevator is offering $5.20 per bushel for U.S. Number 1 hard red winter (HRW) wheat. (Cash Price = Futures Contract Price – Basis 1).
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Ag Leaders Back Heitkamp-Boozman Cuba Ammendment in Farm Bill
The Fence Post – 9/6/2018
A bipartisan group of more than 60 agriculture associations, businesses and elected officials across 17 states urged the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees to keep in the farm bill conference report an amendment sponsored by Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, D-N.D., and Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., that would remove restrictions on private financing for U.S. food exports and allow farm groups to use federal market promotion funds in Cuba. U.S. sales of agricultural products to Cuba are limited to cash transactions, causing Cuba to primarily turn to Europe, Latin America and Asia for nearly $2 billion per year in agricultural imports, the agriculture leaders said. They noted that Cuba imports roughly 80 percent of its food and has a population of 11 million, plus an influx of 3 to 5 million tourists annually.
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Wheat Acres Could Rise Slightly as Prices Trend Upward; Winter Moisture Expected
Ag Week – 9/4/2018
Texas wheat producers may increase planted acres slightly as the forecast for moisture through winter and market trends improve outlook, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. Dr. Clark Neely, AgriLife Extension small grains and oilseed specialist, College Station, said he anticipates a “bump” in statewide wheat acres this season. Texas wheat acres have been exceptionally low, around 4.5 million acres, he said. But they could settle between 4.7 million to 5 million acres based on recent price trends.
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Source: U.S. Wheat Associates