March 19, 2008
Ag outlook meeting will feature grain-pricing strategies
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University agricultural economists will host an IP-videoconference March 31 to provide an outlook following the Grain Stocks and Prospective Plantings reports released earlier that morning by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Chris Hurt and Corinne Alexander will host this year's agricultural outlook meeting. The meeting, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m., is free and open to the public and may be viewed at 18 sites across the state.
"Right now it's an acreage battle," Alexander said. "We know that no matter what is planted, there isn't going to be enough corn, beans and wheat to meet all of the demand."
The March 31 Prospective Plantings report will be the first indicator of what U.S. farmers intend to plant and will likely cause a large reaction in the grain and livestock markets, Alexander said.
"Farmers are in a very tough situation," she said. "We are seeing market volatility that is unprecedented. We have already seen more limit up days and more limit down days in 2008 than we typically see in an entire contract, which lasts about two years."
Recent proposed changes by the Chicago Board of Trade reflect the increased market volatility, Alexander said.
"The CBOT announced an increase in the daily limits on how much the price of corn and soybeans can vary in a given day," she said.
Effective March 28, the corn limit will increase from 20 cents to 30 cents and soybeans from 50 cents to 70 cents.
"Once the new limits go into effect, this means that corn prices on the CBOT can trade 60 cents in a given day and soybeans can trade $1.40 in a given day."
The meeting will help farmers understand the price reaction from the report and the direction that prices are likely to go.
Hurt and Alexander will give pricing recommendations and strategy recommendations for managing the price volatility in the markets. They also will discuss income growth, interest rates, inflation and trade within the agricultural sector.
Host sites include Purdue Extension offices in Adams, Allen, Bartholomew, Clark, Dearborn, Decatur, Dubois, Grant, Hancock, Harrison, Hendricks, Marshall, Pulaski, Tipton and Vanderburgh counties. The outlook meeting also will be available for viewing from the Purdue, West Lafayette campus in Krannert, Room 661, the Southwest District Extension office and the Newton County Government Center.
For questions and more information contact Alexander at (765) 494-4249, cealexan@purdue.edu or Hurt at (765) 494-4273, hurtc@purdue.edu.
Writer: Julie Douglas, (765) 496-1050, douglajk@purdue.edu
Sources: Corinne Alexander, (765) 494-4249 , cealexan@purdue.edu
Chris Hurt, (765) 494-4273, hurtc@purdue.edu
Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
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