LaNina for Drought Conditions and Corn & Soy Exports Jump
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.
**A La Niña climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean is threatening sustained drought conditions for next year, even with autumn storms in the forecast.
Two years of drought has already depleted California’s surface and groundwater supplies, creating acute challenges for farmers and ranchers.
And due to depleted snowpack, climatologists say, California needs 140% of average annual precipitation to generate normal water runoff.
**House lawmakers announced a bill to create a library for cattle contracts within the USDA’s Ag Marketing Service.
Cattlemen are currently unaware of contract terms offered by packers, leading to a decline in leverage for smaller producers during price negotiations.
South Dakota Republican Dusty Johnson and Texas Democrat Henry Cueller introduced the bipartisan Cattle Contract Library Act of 2021.
The legislation received broad support from the American Farm Bureau, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, National Farmers Union, and the Livestock Marketing Association.
**The USDA says export sales of corn and soybeans jumped week-to-week while wheat sales dropped during the week ending on October 14.
Corn sales reported a 22% jump from the previous week and 67% higher than the prior four-week average.
Soybean sales totaled 2.88 million metric tons, up from 1.15 million a week earlier, with China picking up 1.88 million.
Wheat sales dropped 36 percent week-to-week.
