Question from a client, received 8:01 PM Thursday 1 August 2024:
"Hey Roger,
We just got a quick localized, well-needed 1 inch of rain so things are much better than yesterday's hot dry windy conditions.
I am not a conspiracy theorist by no means with what is and has been happening in Europe with the gov't trying to regulate and put farmers out of business and what we have seen in the grain market and what you wrote today, "Altogether, yesterday, crude oil was sharply higher, the dollar was sharply weaker, record large ethanol production for the week, USDA reported the sale of 104,572 mts of new crop corn to unknown, good news about the Panama Canal, the 5 day weather forecast turned a bit drier, Eastern Corn Belt can’t buy a rain… Not too many years ago, that news would move corn futures smartly higher. Instead, corn made new lows, taking out the July 12th low of $4.03. December corn settled lower than any time since December 2020."
I have got to wonder if the same thing is happening here and the powers that be, China, Blackrock, our own government, or whoever, are using the grain markets to put farmers out of business. Might they also be trying to cover the majority of farm ground with solar panels? I do not understand their reasons unless it is to get the power available in controlling the food supply.
I am not sure what we can do about it or if the fundamentals of the market will straighten things out. Just a thought, what is your opinion?