Skip to content

MN Wheat Weekly Wheatsource

MN Wheat Weekly Wheatsource

USDA Weekly Crop Progress Report (MN) –
Click Here for Full Report

  • HRS 7% Planted; 2wks ahead of 2020; 6 days ahead of 5yr avg
  • Top Soil Moisture: 4% very short, 19% short, 64% adequate, & 13% surplus
  • Sub Soil Moisture: 4% very short, 27% short, 61% adequate, & 8% surplus

National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) Update
(Josh Tonsager)

USDA Weekly Crop Progress Reporting Begins 

  • The first Crop Progress report was issued for the 2021 planting season by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) on April 5, 2021. Spring wheat plantings are similar to 2020 progress with 3% planted. 53% of winter wheat crop is in good to excellent condition compared to 62% last year. Crop Progress reports are available online here

USDA Reopened CFAP Signup

  • On April 5, the USDA announced that with updates to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), signup for CFAP 2 payments restarted will continue for at least 60 days. The signup includes those that were originally eligible for CFAP 2 and commodities included in CFAP Additional Assistance. Details on how to apply can be found here

Preserving Family Farms Act Introduced in Congress

  • Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-20) and Representative Jackie Walorski (R-IN-2) introduced the bipartisan Preserving Family Farms Act of 2021 on April 6th. This legislation modernizes the special use valuation provision of the estate tax that allows property to be appraised as farmland rather than its commercial development value when determining estate taxes. Read more here. 

STEP Act Introduced in Congress

  • Last week, a discussion draft for the Sensible Taxation and Equity Promotion (STEP) Act was released by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD). This draft legislation proposes to tax any transfer of property during lifetime or at death that has a net gain associated. An exclusion of the first $1 million of gain at death is included, and any transfer completed during life will allow the first $100,000 of cumulative gain to remain tax-free. The agricultural community has numerous concerns about the impact eliminating stepped-up basis has on farmers and the American Farm Bureau Federation has a detailed write up on the proposal here.

NAWG Creates Suicide Awareness Social Media Campaign

  • Suicide prevention month is September, but more suicides happen in April than any other month. During the upcoming weeks, NAWG will be doing a social media campaign to shed light on the warning signs of suicide, crisis resources, and mental health care for both the general public and farmers. Be sure to follow and share these posts and resources as they become available. Find the first post on Twitter here and on Facebook here

US Wheat Associates, Weekly Price Report
(Michael Anderson) 

  • All wheat futures prices were up on the week. CBOT soft red winter (SRW) futures rose 27 cents to close at $6.38/bu. KCBT hard red winter (HRW) futures were up 21 cents to end at $5.86/bu. MGE hard red spring (HRS) futures gained 55 cents to close at $6.54/bu. CBOT corn futures jumped 18 cents to end at $5.59/bu. CBOT soybean futures gained 1 cent to close at $14.02/bu 
  • Commercial Sales: This week’s U.S. wheat commercial sales of 82,000 metric tons (MT) were down 67% from last week’s 250,000 MT and below trade expectations of 100,000 MT to 500,000 MT. Year-to-date commercial sales for delivery in 2020/21 total 25.1 million metric tons (MMT), 1% higher than last year.  USDA expects total 2020/21 U.S. wheat exports will reach 26.8 MMT, 2% higher than last year, if realized. Net sales of new crop wheat for 2021/22 delivery were 529,000 metric tons (MT).

U.S. Drought Monitor

  • Unseasonably warm and dry weather expanded moisture deficits across wheat growing areas. Dry conditions in Texas and Oklahoma expanded as gusty winds dried out soils. Soil moisture in the Dakota’s worsened as unseasonably high temperatures. Dry weather persisted across much of the west, too, with dry conditions worsening for Eastern Washington, South Central Oregon, Eastern Montana, and parts of Wyoming.

Industry Updates – MN Farm Bureau Federation IMPACT

Action Alert! Tell Congress to Continue Stepped-Up Basis

  • Proposed legislation in Congress would tax capital gains at death and eliminate stepped-up basis as a way to raise revenue for government spending. This would be devastating to American agriculture. Click here to send a message to your Senators and Representative using the Minnesota Farm Bureau Action Alert Center! 
  • Many farmers and ranchers hold assets such as land for decades, passed on from generation to generation.
  • Stepped-up basis is a process that allows a farmer to pay capital gains taxes only on a property’s increase in value since the time that land was inherited, instead of paying the full increase in value since it was purchased by a deceased relative.
  • In addition, the tax on the new stepped-up value is deferred until property is sold by the surviving family member.
  • Write your members of Congress today. Ask for their continuation of stepped-up basis which supports America’s farmers and ranchers, like you!
  • Consider adding a personal story about how your family and farm would be personally impacted by the repeal of stepped up basis.
  • Click here to use the Minnesota Farm Bureau Action Alert Website to send a message to your Senators and Representative!