BASIC & RECENT MARKET INFO

It's our weekly US grain market prices analysis and outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat. Dow Jones  Industrial Average Index settled on Friday at 44,902, +560 points for the week. Crude oil  settled at $65.07, -2.23. Dollar Index  settled at 97.67, -0.79. Baltic Dry Index  (a shipping freight-cost index)  settled at 2,257, +205. Corn September futures  settled at $3.99½, -9¢ for the week. December futures settled at $4.19, -8¾¢ for the week. Basis   (U = September; e.g. 10N

Tidbits Of all the railroads, BNSF Railway  (BNSF) originates the most grain carloads. Most of BNSF’s corn shipments are moved by shuttle trains (“shuttles”) made up of 110-120 hopper cars. Powered by a dedicated locomotive, each train moves as a single unit. BNSF’s shuttles are auctioned to shippers for yearlong contracts, during which shippers control where their shuttles load and unload.   BNSF’s shuttle program began shortly after the railroad’s founding in 1995. In 2000,

Tidbits Yesterday morning, the USDA announced the sale  of: 102,870 mts of new crop corn to Mexico 140,000 mts of new crop corn to South Korea 142,500 mts of new crop soybeans to Mexico   While the Chinese  government has yet to issue an official statement, Chinese  importers  have reported to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service that applications for the market-based tariff exclusion will no longer be accepted starting August 1. This includes products like grains, tree nu

Tidbits EPA Director Lee Zeldin announced yesterday that gasoline cans  have been deregulated, issuing letters to manufacturers encouraging them to add vents to gas cans to ensure safe and effective refueling. Old fashioned cans with a vent and a simple threaded lid must now be legal! In 2007, EPA finalized a rule requiring manufacturers to reduce evaporative emissions by sealing in gasoline vapors, which allowed vents as long as they close automatically when not in use. Due

Tidbits The lowest September corn  closing prices this year were: $3.98 on 8 July $3.96 on 11 July $3.98½ on 23 July (yesterday)   After closing higher 4 out of 5 days, September corn has closed lower 3 consecutive days: 4¾¢, then 4½ ¢, then ¾¢ yesterday, a total of 10¢ in 3 days. The technical tool, Average Directional Index  (ADX), measures the strength of the trend, not its direction. A rising ADX suggests a strong trend, while a falling ADX indicates a weakening trend or

Grain market summary of price outlook, seasonal situation, fundamental & technical analysis with our recommendations for corn , soybeans and wheat (Soft Red Winter, Hard Red Winter & Spring), fuel and fertilizer for past week Wednesday to Tuesday. Read about our approach to this report here . We discussed 2025 corn and soybeans marketing plan  on March 23. Refer to our daily mailing on that day or this post  on the website. We provide three different marketing plans (in ord

Tidbits August CBOT options expire  Friday.   Historical data suggests that poor corn pollination due to heat or drought could result in yield losses ranging from 1.5 bushels per acre per day of extreme heat (95+°F) during pollination which is approximately 0.8-1% per day based on a 182 bushels/acre trend yield. President Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. and Japan  have struck a deal that will lower the hefty tariffs he had threatened to impose on goods from Japan while extract

Tidbits Those of you who must deliver corn and beans this fall , if you have not already assessed production in your area versus normal production compared to the fall delivery basis being offered now, get with it. Normally, fall delivery basis needs to be set very late July or the first week of August. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq stock indexes  closed at record highs  yesterday, as optimism over strong corporate earnings outweighed ongoing trade tensions. It is very discouraging

Tidbits 247Ag reports Ohio  has set a record for a month's average nighttime temperatures  being the highest ever recorded, which is not good for pollination.   Wells Fargo has suspended all travel to China  after one of its employees was blocked from leaving China, causing broader anxiety about the risks of travel in the country. Wells Fargo's Chenyue Mao was subjected to an exit ban after she entered China in recent weeks.   The Wallstreet Journal said the exit ban demonstr

It's our weekly US grain market prices analysis and outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat. Dow Jones  Industrial Average Index settled on Friday at 44,342, -30 points for the week. Crude oil  settled at $67.3, -1.45. Dollar Index  settled at 98.46, +0.59. Baltic Dry Index  (a shipping freight-cost index)  settled at 2,052, +389. Corn September futures  settled at $4.08½, +12½¢ for the week. December futures settled at $4.27¾, +15½¢ for the week. Basis   (U = September; e.g. 10

Market Comment Let’s look at the technical situation for December corn.     Corn began a downtrend after the high was made on 19 February 2025. The high for December corn that day was $4.79¾ and it settled at $4.76½, down 1¢ on the day, which is technically bearish, meaning new high for the trend and then closing lower the same day is bearish. But hey, it was only 1¢ lower on the day. Remember this: One cent lower settlement after a new high for the up-trending market is sign

Tidbits The talk of poor pollination for corn  is getting some legs to stand on. It is three weeks too early to put a number on the potential yield impact because most of the corn has not pollinated yet, but pollination problems on this corn early corn are definitely worse than normal. Other problems with Tarpspot and fungicide being washed away in many areas. The fast growing corn plants have not only restricted the release of pollen, but agronomists are beginning to find ve

Tidbits Yesterday turned out to be a profit-taking day for recent corn buyers. The lowest weekly export old crop corn sales of the marketing year did not help, which is to be expected this time of year. The marketing year ends in 6 weeks and it takes 30+ days to get shipping lined-up. Farmer corn sales continue to be light. Yesterday, the Dyersville, Iowa ethanol plant firmed their basis 3¢ to 3 over September. Cargill’s Dayton, Ohio corn syrup plant has kept their basis 55 o

Tidbits December corn  has closed higher 5 of the last 6 days and for 6 consecutive days, the high for the day was higher than the previous day’s high. September corn has done the same 3 consecutive days. Tomorrow is Friday. If corn futures settle steady or higher today, it is reasonable to expect some end of the week profit-taking tomorrow. On the other hand, there are more reports each day this week of pollination problems, now coming from four Corn Belt states. Is the poll

Grain market summary of price outlook, seasonal situation, fundamental & technical analysis with our recommendations for corn , soybeans and wheat (Soft Red Winter, Hard Red Winter & Spring), fuel and fertilizer for past week Wednesday to Tuesday. Read about our approach to this report here . We discussed 2025 corn and soybeans marketing plan  on March 23, check it to have the general idea. Refer to our daily mailing on that day or this post  on the website. We provide thre

Tidbits The National Oilseed Processors Association ( NOPA ) reported yesterday at midday they crushed 185.709 million bushels of soybeans in June, a 6% increase from June 2024. The NOPA soybean crush has now set new monthly records 8 of the 10 months this marketing year. Soybean oil stocks were down 6.7 million to 1.366 billion lbs., slightly higher than trade expectations. This is the smallest June oil inventory since 2004, and 16% lower than a year earlier. To learn more a

Tidbits Yesterday’s new crop corn futures  price action was technically significant. For example, December corn made new contract lows and then traded higher than Friday’s high and settled even with Friday’s high. If it had settled higher than Friday’s high, that would have been a trend changing indicator called a “key reversal.” If December corn had closed just under Friday's high, that would have been a “hook reversal,” a bullish indicator, but not as bullish as a key rever

Tidbits Eduardo Vanin of AgrInvest Commodities of Brazil corn and soybean Saturday comments: "Brazilian soybeans shipped in September are among the most expensive on the market, surpassing those of the US and Argentina, making negotiations with China difficult. Meal, in turn, is so cheap that even Argentine shipments are competing with local products in Asia, creating a scenario of tight crushing margins. Meanwhile, soybean premiums (basis)  rose 20 cents this week, and Braz

It's our weekly US grain market prices analysis and outlook for corn, soybeans and wheat. Dow Jones  Industrial Average Index settled on Friday at 44,373, -456 points for the week. Crude oil  settled at $68.75, +2.25. Dollar Index  settled at 97.87, +0.88. Baltic Dry Index  (a shipping freight-cost index)  settled at 1,663, +227. Corn September futures  settled at $3.96, -24¼¢ for the week. December futures settled at $4.12¼, -20½¢ for the week. Basis   (U = September; e.g. 1

Highlights USDA increased their old crop corn export projection on yesterday’s S&D by 100 million bushels to 2,750 million bushels. The past four S&D reports have increased this marketing year’s corn exports a total of 300 million bushels. Unfortunately, USDA also reduced feed use for corn by 75 million bushels yesterday even though the marketing year ends 31 August. The animal numbers reported by USDA in recent months do not justify a feed cut and there was no increase in fe