Good Morning!
I hope your week is off to a good start. With temps in the 70s on Monday and Tuesday, some around us are trying a few beans, but we have 1-2 in. forecasted starting on Tuesday night through the end of the week. With the rain we had late last week, we weren’t quite there yet on our operation, so we haven’t planted a thing yet. We’re ready to go and will start planting beans for at least two or three days before I switch my planter to corn. That would give us over half of the beans in the ground before I get after it with corn. It looks like we might get a nice window next week to make some progress. We have a several-day stretch with minimal rain chances and temperatures in the 70s. I appreciate those of you keeping me posted. I know there’s not a ton going just yet, but if you do get going, shoot me a message and let me know how you’re getting along and if you have switched any acreage around. Stay safe. For more information on AgMarket, click here. https://hubs.li/Q03qt2Qd0
The USDA report on Tuesday wasn’t quite the market mover we typically see, but it likely gives us some numbers to trade on for 2026 acres for the time being. A possible cease-fire has been discussed, which could certainly impact our energy and ag markets. Outside markets should have provided a mixed bias:
CORN
The corn market started the week with losses on Monday, then rebounded slightly on Tuesday. May corn closed up 2 at $4.57 ¾. This was 4 ¼ off the high and 6 ½ off the low. Corn export inspections were above expectations at 1.790 mmt. This was more than a week ago, as we continue to see big shipments of corn. The highly anticipated USDA report showed corn acres coming in at just over 95.3 million acres, which was above the average trade guess. While it’s 3.5 ma lower than a year ago, it’s still a big number. With excellent demand, a large acreage seems to be almost a necessity. Quarterly stocks came in at 9.024 bbu, which was right in the middle of trade guesses but below the average guess. Corn disappearance is solid, which should highlight the need for a big yield to go along with these acreage estimates. December 2026 corn settled ¼ higher at $4.84 ¼.
SOYBEANS
Soybeans were a shade higher on Monday but posted a nice rally on Tuesday after the report. May beans were up 11 ¼ at $11.71. This was 6 ¾ off the high and 15 off the low. May soybean meal was up 1.5 at 316.4, while soy oil was up .41 at 68.88. Weekly inspections showed bean shipments at 586k mt, which was below expectations again and about half of what we saw a week ago. The USDA showed bean acreage at 84.7 ma. This is up from a year ago, a very similar amount as to how much corn is down. It puts combined acreage at 180 ma, which was a little lower than I had assumed, given our bean number was 86.1. The acreage was considered a friendly number, while stocks came in towards the higher end of estimates. With 2.105 bbu of stocks, the average was around 40 mb below, so disappearance on beans wasn’t considered all that robust. The net effect of the report, however, was clearly a more friendly tone. Given the strong crush this year and a commitment to building out this crush industry through the RVO from the EPA, the trade treated these numbers for beans like a friendly report. November beans settled at $11.57 ½, up 13 ½ on Tuesday.
Matt Bennett
mbennett@agmarket.net
815-665-0462 – Work
@chief321 - Twitter