Dry Weather Delays Sowing of Ukraine Winter Grain, Russia Also Needs Rain
Reuters – 09/19/2019
Dry weather across most of Ukraine has delayed the sowing of winter grain for next year’s crop in one of the top Black Sea grain exporters, the nation’s weather forecaster said. Ukraine and its rival on Black Sea grain exports, Russia, are both looking for rains in coming weeks. In Russia, though, the sowing is still running ahead of the last year’s pace. Ukrainian farmers have already sown winter grains for next year’s crop on 17% of the planned area, or 1.3 million hectares (3.2 million acres), down from 1.4 million hectares at this time a year ago, the agriculture ministry said. “It has been a standard situation of recent years – most of the territory is in a state of soil drought,” said Tetyana Adamenko, head of agriculture at Ukraine’s state weather forecasting centre. Ukraine has had drought conditions for seven of the last 10 years, she said.
Taiwan to Purchase $3.6 Billion of U.S. Agriculture Products, Including Soy Beans and Wheat from North Dakota
hoeven.senate.gov – 09/18/2019
Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today helped announce that Taiwan will purchase $3.6 billion of U.S. agriculture products across 2020 and 2021. The senator joined representatives from the U.S. and Taiwanese agriculture industries at the signing of letters of intent to make the purchases, which will include $1.1 billion of soybeans, $1.1 billion of corn, $960 million of beef products and $576 million of wheat. A portion of the soybean and wheat purchases will be from North Dakota. Hoeven first worked as Governor of North Dakota to expand export options in Taiwan, having sent a trade delegation to the island in 2004. As U.S. Senator, he has continued his efforts to grow this important trade relationship and provide access to a valuable foreign market for U.S. producers. In 2018, Taiwan was the 8th largest importer of U.S. agricultural goods, with U.S. soybeans, corn, wheat and beef all holding a significant market share.
DROP HE
U.S., Chinese Trade Deputies Face Off in Washington Amid Deep Differences
Reuters – 09/19/2019
U.S. and Chinese deputy trade negotiators were set to resume face-to-face talks on Thursday for the first time in nearly two months as the world’s two largest economies try to bridge deep policy differences and find a way out of a bitter and protracted trade war. The negotiations on Thursday and Friday are aimed at laying the groundwork for high-level talks in early October that will determine whether the two countries are working towards a solution or are headed for new and higher tariffs on each other’s goods. A delegation of about 30 Chinese officials, led by Vice Finance Minister Liao Min, were set to launch talks on Thursday morning at the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office near the White House. The U.S. side is expected to be led by Deputy USTR Jeffrey Gerrish. The discussions are likely to focus heavily on agriculture, including U.S. demands that China substantially increase purchases of American soybeans and other farm commodities, a person with knowledge of the planned discussions told Reuters.
North Dakota: Crop Progress Report September 17
North Dakota Wheat Commission – 09/17/2019
As expected, very little harvest progress was made in the spring wheat region over the last week as precipitation was widespread. The U.S. crop is now 76 percent harvested, up only 5 percent from last week. Harvest is nearly finished in South Dakota at 96 percent complete, followed by Minnesota at 83 percent, North Dakota at 73 percent and Montana at 69 percent. Normal harvest completion rates for this time of year are closer to 95 percent. The current week calls for warmer temperatures, but humidity levels have been high in areas which could shorten harvest hours. With the wet conditions, quality on the remaining crop is a concern, but will be highly dependent on maturity level in the crop. Quality samples continue to be analyzed at the NDSU spring wheat quality lab, with about 65 percent of the samples collected. Protein remains the same as last week at 14.6 percent and average test weight is stable at 60.4 pounds per bushel (79.5 kg/hl). The average falling number value is 383 seconds, however, it is worth noting that there are areas with significantly lower falling number values this year. Vitreous kernel content is 66 percent – an effect of the wet harvest conditions, giving the crop a No. 1 Northern Spring grade so far. Quality data will continue to be updated on a weekly basis.
Source: U.S. Wheat Associates