04/09/07 Watching weather and crop progress

Market Line April 9, 2007 Grain futures traders will be reacting one way or the other to the long holiday weekend weather this morning. Wheat futures were sharply higher Thursday in anticipation of cold temperatures in the Midwest and Plains. Brian Hoops of Midwest Market Solutions in Yankton, South Dakota says the greatest potential damage to winter wheat was likely in the soft red winter wheat belt. Hoops: "From the Ohio River Valley all the way down to the Arkansas border, in the Boothills down there in Missouri and Arkansas where we grow some soft wheat. Probably open higher Monday factoring in those crop problems and then pull back after that to see the crop ratings on Monday afternoon. So probably put a high in on wheat early in the session on Monday." There is a USDA supply and demand report tomorrow. During the last trading session Thursday, Chicago May wheat was up 13 ¾ cents at 4-45. May corn up 6 ¾ at 3-66. Portland cash soft white wheat up three cents at mostly 5-80. Club wheat 5-80. August new crop soft white 10-12 cents higher at 4-92. HRW 11.5 percent protein 14 cents higher at 5-79. Dark northern spring 14% protein up 12 at 6-06. Barley at the coast 168 dollars a ton. August at 150. Cattle futures were higher last Thursday. Higher boxed beef prices last week had cash fed cattle selling higher at 100-dollars a hundredweight and there are expectations beef prices will continue strong this week. June live cattle up 77 cents at 96-32. May feeders up 35 at 111-85. May Class III milk up 62 cents at 16-07. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.