AFBF economist on futures markets hurting

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AFBF economist on futures markets hurting

The commodity futures markets have taken a beating. American Farm Bureau Economist John Newton says a lot of it is demand uncertainty about later this year and what COVID19 recovery is going to look like.

“Just about everywhere you look, for major commodity agriculture, other than wheat and rice, the prices have fallen pretty sharply. In any event, if they haven’t fallen too much they still have a lot of volatility which makes growers marketing that product very difficult.”

Newton says livestock futures, dairy and ethanol are hurting, “June futures for lean hogs have fallen by more than 50%. June futures for cattle have fallen by 30%. May milk prices have fallen between 30 and 40%. And the ethanol prices have fallen by about 30%.”

Newton says cash corn and cotton futures have also been hard hit, “You know, a lot of cotton is exported, made into clothing. Demand at retailers has virtually fallen off a cliff. And, so, cotton prices have fallen by about 30%.”

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