Diana DeHart

August 2 update Much needed rains fell across portions of the region over the past two weeks, although the rains were widely scattered.  Extremely hot temperatures enveloped most of the region as well, stressing thirsty crops. Diana DeHart is your Market Advisor Regional Representative serving members in the Western Farm Belt, West and Southwestern United States - Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Click here to download Diana’s virtual business card. On July 24 I traveled from KC, MO north to St. Paul, MN via I-35. Crop conditions looked relatively good along the way, with a few small pockets of slight dryness in several counties near south/central Iowa. Temps along this route were warm, but not excessive, and crops were green and making up for lost time from late plantings.  I traveled from KC, MO to Ft. Smith, AR on July 29; from there, on to College Station, TX. Conditions got visibly dryer as I traveled south of KC into northern AR. Many of the cattlemen in Western Arkansas have begun liquidating their herds as dryness has increased recently. There were some scattered showers in the western parts of Arkansas and eastern Texas this past weekend, but nothing widespread or significant enough to relieve drought issues.  This week I am attending the Texas A&M Beef Short Course in College Station. The biggest topic of the  program was the drought and how to manage the operation in spite of it, along with higher input costs. Weather outlooks do not look promising, according to some meteorologists, and their view of an intact La Niña system. If you haven’t explored what PRF (Pasture, Range & Forage) or LRP (Livestock Risk Protection) can do for you and your livestock operation, please give one of our Insurance Agents a call.  Learn how these government subsidized programs, or utilizing a brokerage account for hedging, can help protect your bottom line and your operation. Below are recent soybean and corn yields estimates from FBN®. Upcoming events Check out these upcoming events in our region.  For more details click here. July 21 Update  Wheat harvest is wrapping up in most areas in my region and, for the most part, quality has been very good for both Hard and Soft Wheat this year. Yields have varied depending on location. Soft wheat areas have seen average to slightly above average yields while Hard wheat areas were all mostly below average yields with some fields a total loss due to drought conditions.   Corn and soybean conditions are a mixed bag in this region as well. Crops in most of Iowa, parts of Nebraska and Northwest Missouri look really good. Although slightly behind average, they have had good amounts of moisture and plenty of GDUs that have helped the crops gain in maturity given some of the late planting dates. Conditions deteriorate as we move south and west, however. Even in Missouri where NW MO crops look great, we only have to travel a few hours east or south to find drought-stressed crops in need of a drink and some cooler temps.  Traveling south and west through Kansas we see the same situation, dryland crops under stress (dead in some areas) and even irrigated crops struggling to keep up with the 100+ degree days and too warm of temps at night. Currently the grain market is taking the attitude that the “I” states are improving enough that they will offset losses from states like Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Time will tell if that is the case, but many years we won’t see the market accept anything below the USDA estimated yield until after the harvest is in the bins and the bin doors are shut in the fall.   The drought in parts of this region is not only impacting crop production, but also livestock production. As the southwest is salvaging severely drought stricken corn where possible for forage/feed use, we have seen a great number of cattle sold this summer due to lack of grass/feed. Part of what we do as market advisors/brokers is talk with producers regarding their livestock, especially cattle, and how they manage price volatility in the cattle market. In addition to, or instead of using futures and options, FBN can work with livestock growers to protect prices using the Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) policy. This is a federally-subsidized insurance program used to lock in a floor price for your cattle and protect against a price decline in the marketplace. Producers need flexibility while being proactive in managing their price risk and LRP offers that opportunity. FBN has Crop Insurance agents licensed to write LRP policies. If you would like to learn more about this product and how to manage your risk, contact your local market advisor who can get you in touch with one of our experienced FBN Crop insurance agents. Hit and miss rains have led to varying drought indications throughout the country. It's no surprise crop health throughout the region is varying so much. The below NASA Grace map provides a great visual of soil moisture inconsistencies throughout the country (white indicated normal soil moistures levels during this time of the year with colors on the red spectrum indicating drought level and blue spectrum indicating elevated soil moisture levels). Source: NASA , https://nasagrace.unl.edu/   Upcoming events Check out these upcoming events in our region.  For more details click here. Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association - Norman, OK, July 22-23 Arkansas Cattlemen's Association - Hot Springs, AR, July 28-30 Texas A&M Beef Short Course - College Station, TX, August 1-3 Coming County Fair (stop by our booth!) - West Point, NE, August 11-14 Community Builder events in the following locations: Fort Dodge, IA, July 12 Huxley, IA, July 13 Keystone, IA, July 14 Anita, IA, July 19 Independence, IA, July 20 Monticello, IA, July 28 Perry, IA, August 4 Marshalltown, IA, August 9 Grinnell, IA, August 10 FBN Market Advisory services are offered by FBN BR LLC, dba FBN Brokerage, FBN BR and FBN Market Advisory - NFA ID: 0508695 Disclaimer: The views and opinions are solely those of the author as of the date of publication, are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions, will not be updated or supplemented after the date hereof and may not necessarily come to pass. The views and opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of all personnel at FBN BR LLC (FBN) or the views of the Farmer's Business Network Inc. as a whole. FBN makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to this content. Any charts and graphs provided are for illustrative purposes only. Any performance quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of principal. Commodity trading, including futures, hedging and speculating, involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All information, publications, and reports, including this specific material, used and distributed by FBN BR LLC shall be construed as a solicitation. The information and data provided comes from sources believed to be reliable but FBN BR LLC does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.  We are an Equal Opportunity Provider. FBN Crop Insurance services are offered by FBN Insurance LLC (dba FBN Insurance Solutions Services LLC in Texas, and FBN Insurance Solutions LLC in California and Michigan) and are only available where FBN Insurance LLC is licensed. FBN membership is not required to purchase through FBN Insurance LLC, but certain features are only available to FBN members. FBN Crop Insurance is currently offered in all U.S. states except MA and the District of Columbia. Copyright © 2014-2022 Farmer's Business Network, Inc. The sprout logo, "Farmers Business Network," "FBN," and "Farmers First" are registered trademarks of Farmer's Business Network, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Crop conditions Crop conditions across this region continue to vary but considering what the crop has been through in this area this growing season things look relatively good. I’ll start by noting that the US Drought Monitor for the week of June 28th shows no change in drought improvement throughout most of the Western Midwest and Southwest, except for nearly all of New Mexico and a small portion of southwest and south central Colorado which improved marginally. A slight degradation was noted in portions of eastern Texas, southwestern and south central Missouri, and northern Arkansas and portions of Mississippi. No improvement was seen in Nebraska’s drought conditions or the driest areas of western Iowa. Throughout the month of June, I have traveled across parts of central and east central Iowa (along I-80 and highway 30 east & west) and down I-35.  Crops look good across most of this area of Iowa, although it is evident, they were planted later than normal. Northwest Missouri, Southwest Iowa, Southeast Nebraska, and Northeast Kansas crops look the best of anywhere I have traveled this month.  On average the area planted later than normal, but the crop has made great progress and is in great condition.  Northcentral Missouri and east experienced wetter conditions early in the planting season and that crop is not as mature and many soybeans were still being planted the last week of June.    Lincoln, NE to Grand Island, NE is an area that has been hard hit with high winds and hail damage.  Many irrigation systems and properties have been damaged in addition to the crop.  As of June 24th, much of the corn crop was once again emerging and nearly all fields had been replanted, but irrigation repairs were far from complete. Traveling to eastern New Mexico in mid-June confirmed the extremely hot and dry conditions across the panhandle and southwest.  Wheat harvest was well underway, but producers in Oklahoma, Texas, western Kansas, and eastern Colorado confirmed a poor yielding wheat crop.  Portions of this area did receive some beneficial rains in late June, but the area is still moisture deficit, and any wind and high temps will take an additional toll on those crops if they persist into July.   Basis for corn in the region has remained strong, especially for old crop corn.  Feedlots in western Kansas have been reporting $2.00+ versus the July, with some trades near $3.00 over.  Even in western Missouri and northern Arkansas we have seen old crop corn basis values at $1.50 or better.  New crop corn basis has remained steady in most areas with some areas like the Arkansas feed market working slightly higher.  Soybean basis remains steady to slightly higher in the Kansas and western Missouri areas as well, although not as spicy as the corn market.  Wheat basis has lost some ground during harvest as expected.  With a short HRW crop and futures down significantly I would expect basis levels for wheat delivered post-harvest to improve.   Upcoming events Check out these upcoming events in our region. For more details click here. Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association - Norman, OK, July 22-23 Arkansas Cattlemen's Association - Hot Springs, AR, July 28-30 Texas A&M Beef Short Course - College Station, TX, August 1-3 Coming County Fair (stop by our booth!) - West Point, NE, August 11-14 Community Builder events in the following locations: Fort Dodge, IA, July 12 Huxley, IA, July 13 Keystone, IA, July 14 Anita, IA, July 19 Independence, IA, July 20 Monticello, IA, July 28 Perry, IA, August 4 Marshalltown, IA, August 9 Grinnell, IA, August 10 FBN Market Advisory services are offered by FBN BR LLC, dba FBN Brokerage, FBN BR and FBN Market Advisory - NFA ID: 0508695 Disclaimer: The views and opinions are solely those of the author as of the date of publication, are subject to change at any time due to market or economic conditions, will not be updated or supplemented after the date hereof and may not necessarily come to pass. The views and opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of all personnel at FBN BR LLC (FBN) or the views of the Farmer's Business Network Inc. as a whole. FBN makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to this content. Any charts and graphs provided are for illustrative purposes only. Any performance quoted represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. All investments involve risks, including the possible loss of principal. Commodity trading, including futures, hedging and speculating, involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All information, publications, and reports, including this specific material, used and distributed by FBN BR LLC shall be construed as a solicitation. The information and data provided comes from sources believed to be reliable but FBN BR LLC does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.  Copyright © 2014-2022 Farmer's Business Network, Inc. The sprout logo, "Farmers Business Network," "FBN," and "Farmers First" are registered trademarks of Farmer's Business Network, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Introducing Diana DeHart - Market Advisor Regional Representative covering the Lower Midwest & Central Plains I've been working as a Farm Market Advisor with FBN  since 2018  and I've been employed in the grain industry since 1994. I grew up on a grain and livestock farm in NW Missouri, and still farm and raise cattle in the area with my family. I started my career in the grain industry with a Co-op in western Indiana as a grain merchandiser.  For 3 years I worked for ADM as a merchandiser, commodity broker and grain facility manager in west central Indiana. In 2005, I moved back to Missouri and worked for a regional co-op in west central Missouri as the grain coordinator. In 2016, I moved back to northwest Missouri to my family farm and worked for a newly constructed shuttle loading facility nearby. In May of 2018 I joined FBN and I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with producers and help them manage their grain marketing risk. May brief The western part of this region has been extremely dry while the north and eastern areas have been fighting rain. Planting in the Lower Midwest areas has been delayed, but mid-May weather gave many producers several short windows that allowed them to get corn in the ground. The Deep South has seen a fair amount of prevent plant claims for corn.  The Wheat Council wrapped up their Kansas tour with an estimated yield of 39.7 bushels per acre versus the average from last year at 47.4 bushels. Production is seen at 261 million bushels, implying USDA’s harvested area total is viewed as too optimistic by the tour. We believe protein shouldn't be an issue for the HRW crop this year.  Old crop basis is holding firm for soybeans and corn in most areas. New crop soybean basis remains steady to slightly weaker. If you'd like to talk about your farm business and how it's being impacted by market dynamics, you can call/text me at 816-281-5496 . Or email me . FBN Market Advisory services is offered by FBN BR LLC - NFA ID: 0508695.   Disclaimer: Commodity trading, including futures, hedging and speculating, involves substantial risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. All information, publications, and reports, including this specific material, used and distributed by FBN BR LLC shall be construed as a solicitation. FBN BR LLC does not distribute research reports, employ research analysts, or maintain a research department as defined in CFTC Regulation 1.71. Copyright © 2014-2022 Farmer's Business Network, Inc. "Farmers Business Network," "FBN," and "Farmers First" are registered trademarks of Farmer's Business Network, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.