Wednesday, March 12, 2025, 7:40 a.m.

Tuesday was a negative day for our markets.  Harvest corn closed down 1/2, harvest soybeans closed down 2 1/4, harvest winter wheat closed down 5 1/2 and harvest spring wheat closed down 6 1/2.  In the overnight trade all of our markets remain on the negative side.  Oil closed up $0.22 yesterday at $66.25 per barrel.  It is stronger in trading again this morning with it now valued at $66.96 per barrel.  Our dollar had a high yesterday morning of $0.695 US and then a low of $0.689 US both before noon.  With some very choppy trading since then it has stayed within that range.  This morning it is currently valued at $0.694 US.

The USDA released their monthly WASDE report yesterday and it truly was much ado about nothing.  They did not alter the US balance sheet for old crop corn.  They did decrease world carryout stocks slightly but not enough to drive prices higher.  For soybeans they also left the US balance sheet unchanged but decreased world carryout stocks slightly.  Again not enough to drive prices.  For the wheat market the changes made were once again minor in nature.

Probably the largest item driving prices yesterday was market uncertainty.  This was due to the on again off again tariffs being implemented by the US administration.  It seems that every time President Trump sends out a different message all of the markets respond.  This had led to a large pullback in the stock markets as fears of a US recession have taken hold.  It is hard for the commodity markets to rally if the stock markets are in a negative.  There is so much managed money in the markets that a negative influence on one side usually falls over into other markets also.

It was nice to see lots of people at the Ottawa Valley Farm Show yesterday.  If you see any of our staff there please do not hesitate to say hello.  It sure is great to see lots of positive people working in our agriculture industry.

If you would like to talk about the markets or price some of your crop for the future or in store, please reach out to us via phone or email to info@northgowergrains.com. Prices quoted herein are for product at our elevator.