New Host

I have a new host for the blog. The URL is: http://johnbuntingsjournal.com

There will be some time before I am familiar with the workings of Wordpress, but, that's life.

I will post something later today.

Pass the word and let me know what you think.

AWOL

Google blogger was down for some time.

I will be changing host soon.

Money Talks

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The stock market fell. Oil fell. Corn, wheat, soybean futures fell. The dollar is up. Is there a pattern?

No surprise that butter futures fell, the limit, a nickel. No surprise that Class III milk futures fell. But, look above at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) "Commitment of Traders" report. Look at how few players participate. Then ask why "non-commercial" players should even be there.

Don't worry though. These are really smart people who know more than the mere mortal.

Dean Defies Predictions

Some insiders felt Dean would fall very short on first quarter earning. Instead, they pulled a rabbit out of the hat:

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dean-foods-reports-first-quarter-2011-results-121555323.html

In the first half hour of trading today Dean shares were up over 14%. At the closing bell Dean shares were up 11.48%.

Oddly enough, Dean saw sales volume for fluid drop and the Class I mover rise dramatically when compared with the first quarter of 2010. Greg Engles said on the conference call he expected farm milk price to remain steady for the rest of the year. But, what does he know?

As Yogi Berra once said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future."

Crop Progress

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Today, May 9, 2011 USDA's "Crop Progress" report was released. The full report is at: http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/usda/current/CropProg/CropProg-05-09-2011.pdf


The two snips above show planting is progressing. However, the amount emerged is way behind average. The temperature has not been conducive to corn within the corn growing states. Additionally, there are reports of 900,000 acres under water.

Just what this will all mean when the harvest season comes is anyone's guess. A study on various prediction models (not for the corn crop) indicates people are not very good. So, what will come of dairy ration price is yet to be known.

Weather

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Although much of the focus of the news is on the Mississippi flooding there are still vast areas of the country experiencing drought (see above).

An interesting news story focuses on the extreme effects of La NinaL

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110508/ap_on_re_us/us_la_nina_s_extremes

The winter and early spring have been extreme across the West, with record snowpacks bringing joy to skiers and urban water managers but severe flood risks to northern Utah, Wyoming and Montana.

And despite all the wet weather in the Rockies and Sierra Nevada, parts of eastern Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona are in severe drought and gearing up for what is forecast as a bad fire season. In New Mexico, some 400 fires, driven by relentless winds, have already raced across 315,000 acres.

Credit — or blame — for the extreme weather goes mostly to a strong La Nina, which is associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean and an atmospheric flow that's causing drier than normal conditions in the Southwest and wetter than normal in the Northwest..

More at link.

Tornado Victims

I learned today of one dairy farmer in Alabama who just got his power back on ten days after the tornado.

A couple days ago I received this:

FYI:



Federation of Southern Cooperatives is taking donations to help the Alabama tornado victims.

Requested Items

* towels
* tooth paste
* canned foods
* can openers
* cooking utensils
* cleaning supplies
* socks
* washing powder
* soap
* underwear
* water
* toiletries
* bathroom tissue
* clothing
* cash donations are accepted (all donations are tax-deductable)
o Make all checks payable to the Federation of Southern Cooperatives

Please send all item donations via UPS to:

Debra Eatman
575 Federation Rd
Gainsville, Ala 35464