"Mr. President, I too, look forward to passage of the free trade agreements," Congressman Huelskamp said. "I was optimistic when you said at the end of last year that ratifying these agreements was a top priority. Unfortunately, the American people and the media whom you addressed today did not hear the other side of the story: you are solely responsible for blocking the advancement of deals with Korea, Panama, and Colombia. Your refusal to send these agreements to Congress for approval is not endorsed by members of either party, as evidenced by the mock mark-ups that were held in both chambers. Members of your own party reject your obstructionism."

Insight

Ever have an 11-year-old farmer’s daughter give you a tour of their farm?

   It was recently published that Glynn Tonsor, livestock marketing specialist with K-State Research and Extension said that " beef consumption per capita in 2010 was 59.6lbs, down from 76.6lbs in 1980 while inflation-adjusted beef prices actually declined from 1980 to 2010".

The simple math of the matter is that people are eating 17lbs less beef than they were 20 years ago and although the press expounds on how rich we are getting selling these high priced feeder calves the reality is that we are going nowhere when you measure performance based on profitability in relation to the purchasing power of our dollar over time. 

Wheat and More….or less

Intrigued, I looked up the concept on the internet and discovered under the What Does This Mean section that if  you did even occasional tillage, yes, you’d be  looking at eternal hell and damnation.

I am very disappointed in the party-line vote in the Senate.

Editor's note: This is in response to this CNN blog: http://bit.ly/qrs0ty

A recent post on the CNN food blog site, Eatocracy, posed this question: “Does 4-H desensitize kids to killing?”  A timely question considering county fair season is in full swing across America; yet a question that could have only come from someone who drove by a county fair.  Once.  A long time ago. 

There is no debating the fact that the Grain and Soy markets are taking all "direction" from two unique and separate dynamics.  The first being the more traditional "weather" type play that most often influences US row crop prices during the pollination period.  The second and possibly more powerful dynamic influencing price direction is the stability, or should I say, lack of stability in the "outside" markets. 

I was discussing forage needs with a cattleman from the Inman area this week. He said he added up all of his hay supply and he has enough to feed three cows this winter. If you are in this situation and have access to CRP there may be some options for you.

As we are writing this column, 2,153 people have become ill from an E. coli outbreak that is centered in Germany, 22 have died and approximately 30 percent of the reported patients have contracted hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). The species (serotype) of bacteria responsible for this outbreak is E. coli 0104:H4 which is a non-104:H7 STEC (Shiga Toxin producing Escherichia coli).

Environmental consequences, consumer satisfaction and selling a product at a fair and equitable price doesn’t rank at the top of the list of priorities for food producers.

As a professional traders for more than 20 years at the CBOT and the KCBOT, I know just how important it is to have the right information and strategy in place when trying to capture returns in these markets.

If the last few days of mid-May are any indication, this summer could be a real scorcher. While some don’t venture outdoors much except on weekends, for many outdoor work continues as usual.