Top 5 Things to Watch         03/15 04:59

   War Repercussions and Winter Storms

   Another winter storm will potentially affect the northern third of the 
country, while we'll continue to track the prices of fertilizers, fuel and 
other inputs as the war with Iran continues.

By DTN Staff

   OMAHA (DTN) -- Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for 
the week of March 15. Watch for coverage of these and other topics throughout 
the week on our subscription platforms as well as on http://www.DTNPF.com. Note 
that all report release times are Central Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.

   1. Winter storm watch: We're expecting some significant snowfall and a 
following arctic blast across much of the northern one-third to one-half of the 
country. The cold front will also produce a line of strong-to-severe 
thunderstorms across the Mississippi Valley on Sunday, moving on to the east by 
Monday. A burst of very cold air will follow early this week. Then a warming 
trend returns, which should turn that snow into helpful soil moisture. For the 
latest, see our Ag Weather Forum column here: 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2026/03/13/massive-blizzar
d-forecast-northern.

   2. Federal Reserve squeeze: With inflation still above 2% and likely staying 
high due to rising fuel prices from the war with Iran, some analysts would 
expect the Fed to slightly raise interest rates. But the latest jobs and other 
economic data this past week all showed signs of an economy continuing to slow. 
That would indicate a softening of interest rates to steady employment. The 
money is on the Fed keeping rates flat. We'll see, the March meeting is Tuesday 
through Thursday.

   3. More war price worries: Letters from various farm interests continue to 
hit Washington asking for relief on fertilizers, fuels and other expenses due 
to the fighting in Iran and the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. We'll 
continue to monitor those actions as we move toward National Ag Day events 
March 24.

   4. South American weather: Scattered showers continue across central Brazil 
this week, being more favorable for newly planted safrinha corn. Areas in the 
south will be much drier with poorer conditions until a front moves in during 
the middle of the week. The country will continue to try and stack soil 
moisture before the wet season rainfall shuts down in the next six to seven 
weeks. In Argentina, it has been very dry for a lot of the country, though 
spotty showers have been noted across the west. Spots in the southeast are 
particularly dry and need rain. The front forecast to move through this weekend 
may bring scattered precipitation. Another front or two will combine for some 
more widespread showers in the early part of the week. Time is running out for 
rainfall to have a positive impact for filling corn and soybeans as early 
planted corn continues to be harvested while harvest will pick up for soybeans 
late this month into April.

   5. Reports due this week: Monday at 8:15 a.m., Industrial Production and 
Capacity Utilization. At 9 a.m., Business Inventories. At 10 a.m., Grain 
Inspections. At 3 p.m., state-by-state wheat crop progress and conditions 
(USDA). Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., Imports and Exports and New Residential 
Construction. At 9 a.m., Pending Home Sales Feb, Home Builders Confidence 
Index. Wednesday, 7:30 a.m., Producer Price Index (PPI) and Core PPI. At 9 
a.m., Factory Orders then at 9:30 a.m., EIA's weekly petroleum status report 
including ethanol production and stocks. At 1 p.m. the FOMC Interest Rate 
decision and at 1:30 p.m. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell press conference. At 2 
p.m., Broiler Hatchery. Thursday at 7:30 a.m. we'll see Grain Export Sales and 
Initial Jobless Claims and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing survey. At 9 a.m., 
Wholesale Inventories and New Home Sales. At 10:30 a.m., Weekly Economic Index. 
At 2 p.m., Livestock Slaughter and Slaughter Weekly. Friday at 7:30 a.m., 
Employment Cost Index Q4. At 2 p.m., Cattle-On-Feed and Milk Production and at 
2:30 p.m., the CFTC's Commitment of Traders report.

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or https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/videos/field-posts-podcasts and 
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Spotify.

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