Tuesday’s market (June 30), we’re in a “hat rack” market — we’re looking look for some kind of market news to “hang our hat on.”

Prices have broken sharply on the Chicago Board of Trade the last few days. The perception of a good crop and outside markets continue to ravage what was a welcome rally.
Monday trading was an example of how bad it gets when the speculators run out on the market. Soybeans were down 27 1/2 cents […]

Corn, beans and wheat have made new recent highs on the Chicago Board of Trade this week, but there is no surprise.

Price discovery

The same factors that have pushed prices the last month continue to effect the ideas in Chicago of price discovery. Price discovery is the term the grain trade uses for finding the […]

Now is the spring of our discontent. Now, we are starting to talk about how dry it has gotten. Now, we are wishing we had not poked seed into mud that might crust over it.

I put in 750 miles in Ohio and Michigan over the weekend, and I was amazed how far behind we are in reality.
Yes, the Planting Progress Report from USDA said Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois are the problem with the U.S. being so far behind, but looking at miles of northwest Ohio bare as far […]

The planets are aligning this morning in a manner that will be easier to interpret by the end of the day. Unfortunately, I have to write this on Tuesday morning, not Tuesday evening.
The planets are aligning, or even colliding, in the form of the USDA Planting Progress Report, out Monday afternoon, and the USDA […]

Corn prices crashed on the Chicago Board of Trade the last week, even as soybeans tried to hang on to recent highs.

Grain markets have been monochromatic since the March 31 USDA Planting Intentions Report. This has been a soybean rally, primarily, and the last week in corn futures has reminded us that corn has just been along for the ride.

The USDA Prospective Plantings Report, followed by friendly export reports, have helped fuel some bullish enthusiasm for the grains.

Farmers who were waiting for the Prospective Plantings Report to help the corn pricing decision are not likely to be happy.