Lock in Feed Costs, Choosing Technology on Ranches, Dropping Fertilizer Costs

Today we look at a great opportunity for dairy producers to lock in feed costs for the balance of 2026, then shift to a look at how to determine if technology is right for you on the ranch. We look at a drop in fertilizer prices before wrapping up in financial markets. 

Transcript

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Hello and welcome to Chap BDC. Here's the top stories from Dr. Daily today, which is Friday, July 10th. Today we're gonna focus on locking in feed costs for dairy producers, a look at ag tech and the livestock market, uh, drops in fertilizer prices, and some ambivalence towards oil price surges. So let's get to it. Start out with dairy in an article by Taylor Leach on dairy herd management. Lower grain and protein prices are creating one of the more favorable feed buying opportunities dairy producers have seen in months, even as softer milk prices continue to pressure margins. During a recent uh dairy feed podcast, grain market analyst Jake Kingsley says corn and soybean meal futures have retreated to levels that make protecting feed costs attractive through at least the remainder of 2026. He says there's very little feed exposure remaining through September for most of dairies, with nearby corn futures around $4 and soybean meal near $300 per ton. We're at the low end of the historical range, he says. He also says many producers had already locked in milk at favorable prices earlier this year and are now using lower feed prices to secure margins. Kingsley says declining futures prices have prompted many producers to begin purchasing physical feed while also using risk management tools to maintain flexibility. He says there's folks beginning to take their very first layers of physical feed ownership with their vendors. He also says Midwestern corn basis levels have become more attractive, and there have been opportunities to buy feed or at the very least put very attractive ceilings on feed exposure for next year. Protein markets have also strengthened modestly from recent lows because of seasonal maintenance shutdowns, export demand, and production concerns in other regions. But Kingsley says current prices still make sense for many operations. Next, we're going to move over to cattle markets with an article from Drovers. Learning which technologies to adopt are pass by is crucial to cow calf operations. These advancements often open countless doors, but they don't have a place on every operation. Chelsea Good, who's the owner of Good and Associates, says some companies think they have a great solution for animal agriculture, but they're not necessarily from the ag industry. Question becomes: are they actually a solution to a problem that animal ag is asking to be fixed? She says there's a lot of technologies that's neat and cool, but we have to really break down the ROI of each technology at the ranch level. In general, technology is a broad term that can include anything from vaccines to virtual fence and almost anything in between. Specific technologies catching attention in the ranching space are the plethora of tag options that are available. The evolution of genomic tests, the new virtual fencing opportunities, uh, camera technologies, genetic modification, and herd record platforms. Ranchers should be aware of which problem or problems each technology solves and how they integrate into existing ranch systems. Ranchers have an integral role in shaping which talk technologies enter their ranch and industry. Good says her call out to producers is to welcome tech companies into conversations about which areas technology can make a difference and which ones we would be willing to invest in. Switching to some good news in crop markets in an article from DTN Progressive Farmer retail fertilizer prices tracked by DTN for the week of the last few days of June and the first few days of July were mostly lower compared to a month earlier. Mostly lower prices have now been present for a full month according to DTN price data. For the third consecutive week, six of the eight major retail fertilizers were lower compared to last month, while the remaining two were slightly higher. Four of the six fertilizers with lower prices had significant price declines, leading all nutrients lower was urea, which was 12% less expensive with an average price of $718 a ton. UAN 32 was 9% lower compared to last month at an average price of $533 a ton. Anhydris was 7% less expensive at an average price of $1,036 per ton. And UAN 28 was 6% lower at an average price of $504 per ton. Finishing up in financial markets, the U.S. move to blockade the critical street of Hormuz has led to a familiar market response. Surging crude prices, rising bond yields, and a firmer dollar. But this time the erection has been notably restrained, barring oil movements. Equities fell relatively modestly this week, suggesting investors have priced in much of the geopolitical risks and are growing less reactive to headlines. One investment strategist says there's a belief that a lot of the negotiation tactics and that markets have reached peak uncertainty. The reaction function is no longer as extreme as before. As an example, Asia stock markets were trading broadly lower, but the magnitude of moves was notably muted, with most major benchmarks down around 1%. Futures for key indexes were also down under 1%. Well, that's all for now. As always, thanks for tuning in. If you found it useful, drop a comment, subscribe, and share, and tell all your friends. Check out blacktyrtdaily.com for the full stories behind these topics, and don't forget to sign up for the Black Your Daily Newsletter. I'll be back Monday with more business news across the head and financial markets and like for middle line.