POMEROY GRAIN GROWERS, INC. NEWSLETTER 3/26/2013 SPRING General Managers’ Message By: Bob Cox Easter is here and that means that good spring weather we all like is here; snow, sunshine, hail, thunder, that cold wind, and hopefully rain. As they say in the PNW, ‘If you don’t like the weather today, wait till tomorrow.’ Commodity prices are much like the weather in the spring, up and down, hot and cold. We do like the volatility though, and yes, you can get on the wrong side of it. Old crop prices are about 75 cents above the new crop prices, and at some point, those will come together. This week on March 28th, the USDA Intended Plantings report will be out and it should show large corn acreages. Corn is the driver in the markets, and a bearish report could drive our prices the wrong way. The good news is wheat feeding is up, and the more wheat bushels that disappear, the better chance of helping that price. Most of the time, this USDA report has a big influence on the market, more negative than not. This is the time of the year when grain buyers are willing to wait for new crop bushels and old crop and new crop prices start that merging process. The record setting rains of March 2012 didn’t show up this year, which means our May-June rains become more important. The Eastern Corn Belt is receiving better precipitation than last year and many states in the Midwest are in much better shape than last year. This will probably send new crop prices lower. We enjoyed an export barley program last fall and let’s hope that continues. New crop barley is around the $200/ton, which is a good place to start. Our crop insurance revenue guarantees might come into play this year, so make sure you have your spring crop acres signed up with your insurance agent. I believe the price guarantees will be above market prices at harvest, but I hope I’m wrong. There are a few new faces this year at the Grain Growers this spring. Brian Smith is a new employee at the Agronomy Plant. We are excited to have Brian and Nikki in Pomeroy. We are seeing a few young couples come back to Pomeroy and welcome it very much. Levi Krouse is a new employee on the grain side and will fit in well with our Central Ferry employees. And yes, Piper Herres, is helping Debbie part-time at the Agronomy Plant. April 30th is our fiscal year end and it looks like another good year for the co-op and patronage should be paid again in December. Thank you for your continued support. Have a safe and productive spring. Marketing Message By: Joe Waldher There is still a good sized short position left in the Chicago wheat market which provides a little upside hope in the short term. Any short covering rally and old crop soft white should be sold. Old crop soft white export business is not over but the shift to purchasing new crop has begun for the consistent buyer. New crop soft white continues to hover in the net seven dollar range. Any short covering rally and it could easily flirt with $8.00. It is really hard to pull the trigger on any new crop when a dollar has recently come out of the futures market. $7.50-$8.00 is still a really good price range. The size of the 2013 US corn crop will be the main market driver for the next marketing year. Average yields and close to one hundred million acres would provide a lot of downward pressure. This makes the March 1st stocks and acres report that is released March 28th pretty much a must read. The other side of that coin is if the water shuts off to the corn crop things would get wild to the upside with two corn droughts in a row. As you are in the first steps of investing in the 2014 crop this spring, at the very least monitor the Chicago futures for Sep/Dec 2014. Good Luck! Agronomy Message Links of Interest: By: Todd Ruchert Chicago Board of Trade: www.cmegroup.com As we enter spring season for 2013 our rainfall for January thru mid- March trails behind last year’s totals. Due to the lack of winter moisture accumulation we have started spring work ahead of last year. In a recent news release from W.S.U., Dr. Chen has indicated that stripe rust was found on susceptible wheat varieties in their experimental field in Walla Walla. Keeping that in mind, it’s a good idea to contact PGG agronomy division at the earliest signs of sporulating leaves. Farm Service Agency: www.fsa.usda.gov WA State Dept. of Ag.: http://agr.wa.gov WA Crop Improvement www.washingtoncrop.com P.G.G. has our Miller-Condor self- propelled sprayer to handle all your custom spraying needs, also available is our custom cultivating with our 44ft. John Deere cultivator and our 38ft. Horsch- Anderson No-Till drill for your seeding needs. WSU Seed Variety http://variety.wsu.edu Our spring seed varieties include: Louise (soft white wheat), 70% Jefferson30% Buck-Pronto (D.N.S.), 100% Buck- Pronto (D.N.S.), Champion Barley, Hay-bet (Beardless Barley), SY-605CL (D.N.S.), CL- 1035 (soft white wheat), Roundup Ready Canola and Alfalfa. Garfield County, WA www.co.garfield.wa.us Give your local co-operative a call today to handle any of your spring season needs or pre- harvest needs, we have a Certified Crop Advisor on staff and several licensed commercial operators to handle your field scouting to any of your custom application needs. We look forward to working with you this spring and into harvest. Weather Updates: www.weatherunderground.com www.anythingweather.com WA Grain Alliance www.wawg.org Crop Insurance www.agrlitewizard.com Agrigcultural Marketing & Management Organization (AMMO) www.lcammo.org Washington State D.O.T. www.wsdot.wa.gov/commercialvechicle P.O. Box 220 Pomeroy, WA 99347 (509) 843-1694 www.pomeroygrain.com