05/07/07 USDA winter wheat production estimate this week

Market Line 7, 2007 USDA will issue its first production estimate for this year's winter wheat crop in a report this Friday. Last Friday analytical firm Informa Economics pegged the crop at 1.6 billion bushels up from last year's 1.3 billion. Informa estimated white winter wheat production at 242 million bushels compared to just under 226 million in 2006. Wheat futures closed mostly higher Friday in what Peter Georgantones of Investment Trading Services in Bloomington, Minnesota called a day of consolidation. Georgantones: "It was a back and fill type of day. Wheat still followed corn. I think as long as the corn holds the wheat will hold in here. Still assessing some damage. Some say it is worse. Some say it's not as bad. You know you just don't know until you get into the fields." On the weather front its expected to remain dry in the Ukraine and Australia this week. On Friday Chicago July wheat was up ¼ cent at 4-94 ¾. July corn up 1 ½ at 3-90 ¾. Portland cash soft white wheat steady to a penny lower at 5-97. Club wheat 6-04. August new crop soft white one to five cents higher at 5-29. HRW 11.5 percent protein mixed at 5-75. Dark northern spring 14% protein 6-08. Barley at the coast 170 dollars a ton. August at 154. Live cattle futures were mostly higher Friday on short covering with feeder contracts generally lower. Cash cattle traded steady with the previous week. Traders will be watching to see what boxed beef prices do this week. June live cattle up 45 cents at 92-17. August feeders up 37 at 109-27. June Class III milk down 58 cents at 18-45. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.