Al6-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 27, 2003
GRAIN, CATTLE, HOG,
& MILK BFP
FUTURES MARKETS
Markets Courtesy of Chicago Board and Mercantile Exchange
Com
Month | Opening High
245 245 1/2 243 1/2 243 3/4 243 1/2
04Mar
04May 248 3/4 249 247
251 1/2 251 1/2 249 1/2 249 1/2
04Jul
248 3/4 248 3/4'247 3/4 247 3/4
04Sep
| 247 1/2 248 1/2 247 1/4 247 1/2 |247 3/4
04Dec
OSMarj 252 3/4 252 3/4 252 1/4' 252 1/4 ;
OSMayj 255 1/2 n,
05Jul I 257 1/2 257 1/2 257 1/2 257 1/2 |
05Dec I
06Dec
Month) Opening {High (Low | Closing
Soybeans
Month (Opening;High Low
747
04Jan
04Mar ! 749 756 3/4 745 747 1/2
04May[
746
735 l/2;?39 1/2
°4Ju]
|o4Aug
7131/2715 1/2
667 1/2
[o4Sep
|o4Nov[ 612 1/2
614 614
|osJan |
|osMar|
613
Month (Opening[High (Low | Closing
Soybean Meal
Month jOpening'High |Low |
227.6 227.6 223.1 1 223.3 223.5
04 Jan
227.1 227.2 224.6 224.6 224.8
04Mar i
04May |
225.5 225.5 223.0 223.5 223.8
220.5 221.0 219.5 i 219.5 219.7
04jul ;
212.5 213.1 212.1 212.1
04Aug
200.0 200.9 200.0 200.0 b 200.2 a
04Sep
04Oct
178.7 179.5 178.7 179.2 h 179.3 a
041>ec
179.3 179.3 178.7 179.2 b 179.3 a
05 Jan
OSMar
05Jul
OSOct |
. * r
Month Opening |High Low !
Dec. 20,2003
MOLDOVAN REPORT
NUMBER 1
Greetings from Moldova! I'm
in a tiny country in Eastern Eu
rope. Moldova was a small part
of the former Soviet Union and
bordered the USSR and the War
saw Pact countries. It’s a lot like
Pennsylvania and Maryland,
with rolling hills and farm fields.
Closing Bids December 23 & 24, 2003
Low
246 ni
751 741 741 1/2
749 5742 1/2,
733 735 1/2
712712 1/2
666 J 666 1/4
670
614 610 1/2 612
614
614
6131611 1/2611 1/2
182.0 h 182.1 a
179.5 b 180.0 a
,182.5 b 183.0 a
1181.5 b 182.5 a
Moldova’s main agricultural
produces are milk, fruits and veg
etables, and wine. I’m here work
ing with the Citizens Network for
Foreign Affairs (CNFA) as a U.S.
volunteer. Their work is funded
by the U.S. Agency for Interna
tional Development.
My job is to review financial
plans with five new cooperatives.
Four.o£ these.are. dairy coopera-
Settle
Closing
243 3/4
247 1/4
247 247 1/4
250
249 3/4
247 3/4
247 3/4
252 1/4
255 1/2
257 1/2
[Settle [Net Chg
Settle Net Chg
Closing
741 1/4
741
746 1/2
742 3/4
I 743
743
|735 1/4;
735
712
712 1/4
6661/4!
611
611 1/21
614
611 1/2,
(Settle Net Chg
Settle ,Net Chg
Closing
223.4
224.7
223.7
219.6
212.1
200.1
182.1
179.3
179.3
179.8
182.8
182.0
'• Settle Net Chg
Closing
Net Chg
-24
-22
-24
-12
Unch
Unch
246
-124
-116
747
-92
-74
-72
Pork Bellies
-36
-32'
-20
-14
-51
-46
36
Ye tf Im Orft
Oats
-29
-22
-14
-10
-lO
04Sep
04Dec
OSMar
-20
{Mbrith |
tives. And, by the end of the as
signment, we’ll bring these five
cooperative leaders together and
have a seminar to discuss their
futures.
The first day of my assignment
I headed back to the village of Ig
natei. I worked in this same vil
lage a year ago. Ignatei is a two
hour drive north of the capital
city of Chisinau. 1 met with coop
manager Vasilii Gheorghia and
compared their progress over the
past year to the business plan we
prepared last December. To my
surprise, they had achieved near
ly all their goals!
First, they installed a new
compressor for their milk cooling
tank. The old one kept breaking
down, resulting in milk spoilage.
Second, they increased milk pro
curement by about 20 percent.
While the co-op did not make a
lot of money over the past year,
their financial status is stable and
the villagers were able to earn
some money. Ignatei is a very
poor village and any. .business
Lean Hogs
l "V 7 t'O3
> l/u 1
7 03
17 JH
0 D iy
< ') Du
100 U iy
tU D iy
y n to r> it<
5 (1 lys
2fi a ly
100 <1 =iys
1( time(s)
2fao d Tys
> i timc(->)
Vf ar to O
tim~( )
Live
Cattle
12/24/0J
12/23/03
12/22/03
12/19/03
12/18/03
f- i I
5 Day 90 80 on 12/23/03
20 Day 94 95 on 12/03/03
65 Day 94 95 on 12/03/03
100 Day 94 95 on 12/03/03
260 Day 94 95 on 12/03/03
Year to Date
i 1 i 1 IJ Hi ,
(h i i
5 days
3 time(s)
20 days
4 time(s)
65 days
17 time(s)
100 days
28 time(s)
260 days
41 time(s)
41 time(s)
Year to Date
12/24/03
12/23/03
12/22/03
12/19/03
12/18/03
5 Day
20 Day
65 Day
10U Day
?c i D-] y
Ume( ,
20 ■•Jays
h 1 I \ y
/ I iiiipf _,)
1 1 tirn«>( )
lou Jay
Ifihi-ml )
2bO "lays
1H I rrl iC*( •"
; Opening [High
; 146 3/4 149 1/2
Month
04Mar
148 149 3/4
04May
04Ju!
Opening {High
that helps them generate cash is
very much appreciated.
Life in the village is very diffi
cult compared to living in the
capital city. Last December I was
very uncomfortable living in the
village, since Moldova experi
enced record cold temperatures.
This year it is much warmer. But
with the warmth brings new chal
lenges: mud! And mud is some
thing that all farmers hate. There
are no paved roads in the village
and it makes walking from one
place to another difficult.
I stayed with Vascilii’s family
again this year and it was fun to
catch up with them. Their son
and daughter-in-law had a new
baby, and their first born son is
growing rapidly. That night we
had a very nice meal together:
farm-grown duck, barley, canned
tomatoes, feta cheese, and of
course, homemade wine. Moldo
vans are very proud of their
wines.
b 7 10
S 7 OO
bJ ss
in I > 01/0 1
m 10/ib/03
m 10/1 VO i
no o
>n 10/ 1 b/0
>n 10/1 D
89 18
89 18
90 80
89 32
89 90
88 50
88 90
87 10
89 20
89 15
94 95 or 12/03/03
nt f nun
1 '9 ,
f 0 1 1
h 0b ( i
6 08 '
6 03 } -i
84 70
84 OO
87 55
87 OS
87 62
87 62
87 35
85 77
86 15
85 70
Huv>
87 62 on 12/22/03
P 9 SO on 12/01/03
in 10/14/03
93 40
m ID/ 14/03
03 40
m 10/14/03
03 40
» J 40
>n 10' 14/03
ID t. 0
Closing
146 1/2|147 1/4 147
Low
148 148 1/4
Low
(Turn to Page A3l)
bl 08
S 2 80
S 1 Ob
Hi 1 VI VDJ
bO 00 c
11) 1 2/ 19'U
SO 90 a
in 1 2 I Ml
so no o
in 12/ L9/cn
n 1 _/19/01
JO 90 <
r 0 90 (
n IMOn
2 time(s)
Onie( j)
I 0 linie(b)
1.. time(s)
J 1 tirnp(s)
89 18
89 60
88 lb
87 10
88 05
87 10 on 12/19/03
87 10 on 12/19/03
80 15 on 09/29/03
76 30 on 08/11/03
71 00 on 03/11/03
71 00 on 03/11/03
2 time(s)
10 time(s)
3 time(s)
2 time(s)
8 time(s)
8 time(s)
82 72
85 47
86 12
85 02
84 05
82 72
82 72
82 52
76 80
/6 40
76 40
1 Urvu_(s)
5 time( )
5 lmu(s)
r O-n.-(s)
148 1/4
150
I 150 a
' 146 n
150 n
i 154 n
1 1 _ _
Settle (Net Chg
! Closing
Average Farm Feed
Costs for Handy
Reference
To help farmers across the state to have
hand) icfeiencc of commodity input costs
m their feeding operations tor DHIA re
cord sheets or to develop livestock feed
cost data, here’s last week’s average costs
of various ingredients as compiled from
regional reports across the state of Penn-
sylvania.
Remember, these are averages, so you
will need to adjust your figures up or
down according to your location and the
quality of your crop.
Coni, No.2y 2.72 bu., 4.86 cwt
Wheat, N 0.2 3 6 bu., 6.01 cwt.
Barley, N 0.3 —l94bu , 4 15 cwt
Oats. N 0.2 1.88 bu , 5.87 cwt.
Soybeans, No 1
Ear Corn 71.87 ton, 3.59 cwt.
Alfalfa Hay 131.25 ton, 6.56 cwt,
Mixed Hay 132.50 ton, 6.63 cwt.
Timothy Hay 133.00 ton, 6.65 cwt.
b 2 10
sj a 7
89 18
+ 1 00
90 67
t 1 1 1
89 67
+-U 15
88 50
88 05
K rt t nt hum
.
+ 11 2 b \
+ 16 8™
+ 25 60'/o
+25 60 u/ c
83 50
85 72
86 95
t i i r
87 07
85 92
12/24/03
12/24/03
10/22/03
08 ’ 12/03
08/05/03
08/OS/03
Net Chg
+ 10
Settle
147
+4
146' Unch
150'
Unch
1541 Unch
7,25 bu., 12.10 cwt.