2025 Farm Prospective Planting: Market-Moving Changes Ahead Bottom Line Up Front The March 31, 2025 USDA report reveals dramatic shifts in U.S. farming strategy. Corn acreage jumps 5% while cotton crashes 12% – changes that will ripple through commodity markets all year. These aren’t minor adjustments but significant bets by America’s farmers on where profits

Florida’s Orange Groves Give Way to Housing Boom Florida’s iconic orange groves are disappearing, increasingly replaced by residential housing as the state grapples with a declining citrus industry and soaring population growth. Once spanning over 900,000 acres in the 1970s, citrus land has shrunk to about 375,000 acres by 2023, with much of the lost

Where’s The Beef? The U.S. live cattle population is at a historic low, decimated by recent droughts and high costs, and shaped over years by real climate challenges, economic pressures, and a structural shift toward efficiency. These factors have reduced the herd size dramatically, tightened supply, and set the stage for higher beef prices in

Copper’s Wild Ride: What’s Ahead for 2025 If you’ve been keeping an eye on the price of copper lately, you probably noticed it’s been anything but boring. Just last week, Comex copper futures in New York jumped 4% to $4.718 per pound—pretty much the minute President Trump told the Commerce Department to dig into potential

February in the cotton market is often a time of looking back and looking ahead. Recent harvests are complete, and planting decisions loom. The latest USDA data confirms what many suspected: global cotton stocks are ample. Yet, inconsistency in demand, heavy speculative bets, and potential acreage changes in the U.S. mean the market could still

Uncertainty Brews in Coffee Market Despite Potential Crop Improvement Coffee traders have been watching futures rise for the last 15 months on depleted stockpiles and an uncommon horticultural issue which has confounded market forecasters. In that time, the price of coffee has risen from approximately $1.50 per pound to over $3.50. Here’s what I said

January WASDE Shifts Markets: Corn, Soy Stocks Drop Global grain markets have jumped after the latest USDA January WASDE revealed steep cuts to U.S. corn and soybean stocks. The report sparked fresh buying across the commodity complex, with March corn futures reaching a high of 477 cents and March soybeans gaining nearly 28 cents Monday

Commodities in Focus as Trump Takes Office As the new year begins, Donald Trump’s return to the presidency is poised to bring significant changes to energy, agriculture, trade, and economic policies. These shifts are expected to ripple through global commodity markets, influencing supply and demand in line with Trump’s priorities and larger global trends. While precise outcomes remain uncertain, identifying key

Stability for Crude Oil 2024 will likely be remembered as a rare year of calm for WTI crude oil. Prices remained within a $21 trading range, making it the third narrowest band since 2007. Nearly 80% of trading days saw prices below $80. A statistic that reflects how consistently subdued the market was, even amidst