Freese-Notis Introduces New Professional Weather Services Providing Vital Information to Agricultural Interests

Beginning immediately, customers can sign-up for professional weather services from one source with special coverage that crop producers and marketers will find particularly useful. Once again this year, we are experiencing suspense about the weather pattern as we approach the July 4th holiday.

PRESS RELEASE

Press Contact

Michael Speltz

Freese-Notis Weather

pressrel@weather.net

(515) 282-0233

http://www.weather.net

Freese-Notis Introduces New Professional Weather Services

Providing Vital Information to Agricultural Interests

DES MOINES, IOWA, July 1, 2002 - Freese-Notis Weather today

announces that it has expanded the range and depth of web

weather services it offers to customers online. Beginning

immediately, customers can sign-up for professional weather

services from one source with special coverage that crop

producers and marketers will find particularly useful.

Once again this year, we are experiencing suspense about the

weather pattern as we approach the July 4th holiday.

Changing (and sometimes threatening) weather forecast models

have prompted some forecasters to warn of 100 degree heat in

the western Cornbelt during early July. Many of us can

recall years when similar early summer outlooks were

followed by a sudden turn to a wetter and cooler pattern

prompting a sharp fall in grain prices. Considering that

most years do not see extended hot and dry conditions (and

the formation of El Nino suggests such weather is unlikely

to be of long duration this summer), can producers afford to

wait through the holiday weekend before selling some of

their stored 2001 crop or pricing the upcoming 2002 crop?

Even though the past six growing seasons have been

remarkably devoid of severe summer crop problems we can find

no instances during this period when the futures price of

November soybeans went "straight down" after July 4th. In

fact, three of the past six years saw higher closing prices

for November soybeans on August 4th than on the last trading

day prior to July 4th. In two cases, (1997 and 1999)

November futures gained more than 40 cents during the month

following Independence Day. Only one year of the past six

(1998) saw the summer highs reached in June, while the other

five years saw "summer" highs between July 12th and Labor

Day. A very careful look at the last six years reveals that

the average gain from the July 3rd close to the highest

price in the month following the holiday was nearly 47

cents-- even with none of those years having widespread

crop-damaging heat and dryness in the Midwest!

Based on the evidence of the past six years, producers will

likely have some excellent opportunities for pricing old and

new crop soybeans during the coming 30 days.

With summer developments in the weather so key to

agricultural producers, it is necessary to keep an eagle

eye out in the U. S. and overseas. Freese-Notis Weather

professional weather service provides subscribers with

online access to weather maps of North America's main crop

producing zones. Canada and Mexico are also featured, plus

coverage extending down into the soybean belt of South

America. Also, added maps of China, South Africa, Western

and Central Europe, plus much of Southeast Asia round out an

extensive set of views to economically significant

atmospheric conditions complete with cogent commentary by

Freese-Notis's respected meteorologists.

Automatic online sign-up with description of services can be

found at http://www.weather.net linking to new account

activation or direct login. This new service is immediately

available.

About Freese-Notis Weather - Freese-Notis Weather,

headquartered in Des Moines, IA provides comprehensive

weather forecasting services and doppler radar for

agriculture, commodities, construction, energy, media,

television, and custom meteorology. For more information,

please contact Michael Speltz (515-282-0233) or see us on

the web at http://www.weather.net.

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