Grain Marketing Education, News & Strategies

Tidbits After today, the Corn Belt will be mostly rain free for the next ten days. By the middle of next week should have a good “handle” on Corn Belt yields. Will harvest progress pressure corn and bean futures? It might pressure beans because of good yields, but we expect corn yields to be supportive. Farmers will not be selling so much next week to pressure the market, but the psychology of seeing good harvest progress will provide overhead resistance. Pre-hedging is a ter

Tidbits Brazilian farmers had planted 1.2% of the expected area for their 2026/27 soybean crop, ahead of last year’s pace. First corn crop planting reached 27% in the center-south region, compared with 22% a week earlier and 25% a year ago. Despite the strong pace, low temperatures have constrained progress in some areas, with isolated corn fields hit by frost over the past two weeks, AgRural said. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ​said on Monday that Uruguay had

Tidbits The Federal Reserve increased the Fed Fund rate 25 basis points (from 3.75% to 4%). The decision by the 12-member Federal Open Market Committee was unanimous. The Fed chair attributed this to the fight against inflation. This was the first time the Fed had raised rates in three years; prior to that, it had cut rates three times in 2024 and three times in 2025. Donald Trump sharply criticized the FOMC’s decision to raise the benchmark interest rate, stating that it was

Tidbits Flash Sales: Yesterday, the USDA reported sales of 202,000 mts of old crop soybeans to China. U.S. Crops: A farmer survey conducted by agricultural commodity brokerage and analysis firm Allendale forecast the U.S. 2026 corn crop at 15.833 billion bushels, with an average yield of 178.7 bushels per acre, which is below the USDA's outlook of 16.013 billion bushels and 180.7 yield. Their 2026 soybean crop forecast is at 4.515 billion bushels, with an average yield of 52.

Tidbits Iran & Oil: American forces resumed strikes against Iran yesterday, U.S. Central Command has said. In response, Iran launched attacks at U.S. military bases in Iraq and Jordan, according to local state media and the Jordanian Armed Forces. Attacks were also reported in Kuwait and Bahrain. Crude oil prices have surged again.

Tidbits Turkey is discussing a plan to create a new grain corridor in the Black Sea. According to local media, Turkey has intensified diplomatic contacts with Russia and Ukraine. The Chamber of Maritime Commerce of Turkey confirmed that it held meetings at the Ministry of Transport, where they spoke of "intense discussions" regarding a new grain deal. However, no specific deadlines have been mentioned. We do not see any way this grain corridor will be created any time soon, b

Tidbits Biofuel: Tomorrow is the deadline for EPA to announce its decision for 2025 Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). That does not mean a decision will be announced. Much bickering has transpired about the exemption applications because an exemption reduces the demand for ethanol. Trump is on record of favoring the exemptions to reduce the price of gas at the pump. Opponents of the exemption claim all the exemption does is pad the profits of refineries and reduce ethanol dem

Tidbits Brazil: Roraima is a small state in the far north of Brazil bordering Venezuela to the north and Guyana to the east. It is north of the Amazon River and a bit north of the Equator. Farmers plant corn and beans in March or April and harvest in September. El Niño brings drier weather to Roraima just as it does to Central Brazil where the majority of Brazil’s corn, beans, and cotton are grown. Early harvest has begun. Some producers are reporting the loss of entire crops

Tidbits Market Comment: December corn opened 2 to 4¢ higher last evening and then proceeded to move 13¢ higher in the first two hours of trading. Wheat was a follower gaining 2¢ less than the corn. Soybeans were down 4 to 7¢ as the Pro Farmers yield numbers were more than a half bushel above the USDA’s. The next USDA crop production report is 11 September, 14 trading days away. A lot can happen between now and 11 September. Keep in mind, StoneX put the corn yield at 184.8 and

Tidbits The U.S. President announced late on Tuesday he was putting a three-day pause on new ​50% tariffs set to go into effect on Canadian goods yesterday, saying the two countries had reached a deal. U.S. crude oil inventories rose by 4.4 million barrels to 428.8 million barrels in the week ended August 14, marking a third consecutive weekly increase. Gasoline stocks rose by 0.7 million barrels and the market was looking for a decline, while distillate stockpiles fell by 1.

Tidbits Photos From East Central South Dakota: 16X30 29,000 population on the field where these ears came from. Fertilizer: Mosaic Company is an American chemical company based in Tampa, Florida, which mines phosphate, potash, and collects urea through various international distribution networks and Mosaic Fertilizantes. It is the largest USA producer of potash and phosphate fertilizers. Drew Crawford is an American financial whiz living in Brazil who established a busi

Tidbits Markets: Corn closed the week strong, supported by aggressive buying in wheat. September corn gained 11¢, while December added 11¼¢. For the week, December corn gained 21¼ cents. The lack of a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine sent wheat futures sharply higher, with SRW gaining more than 3% and HRW rising over 4%. September soybeans gained 11¾¢ while November gained 10¼¢. Higher crude oil and continued new-crop soybean sales to China also added support.

Tidbits Field feedback from Dave, who farms just northwest of Chicago: “Took a trip to Tulsa over the weekend. In my opinion, Iowa looks great. Corn and beans along with northern half Missouri, southwest Missouri they are chopping or getting ready to harvest corn into Oklahoma, double crop beans look terrible. Came back thru St. Louis up thru Springfield, Bloomington to Rockford, corn has run out of gas, yellow green look like middle September, beans look great. Keep in mind