Thursday, May 21, 2026, 7:40 am

Wednesday was a negative day for our markets.  Spot corn closed down 9 1/2, spot soybeans closed down 9 3/4, harvest winter wheat closed down 6 3/4 and harvest spring wheat closed down 1 3/4.  In the overnight trade all of our markets remain on the negative side.  Oil closed down $5.89 yesterday at $98.26 per barrel.  It is stronger this morning with it now trading at $100.46 per barrel.  Just like on Tuesday our dollar traded between a low of $0.726 US and a high of $0.728 US over the last 24 hours.  This morning it is once again right in the middle of the range with it currently valued at $0.727 US. 

Crude oil prices pulled back yesterday with possible optimism that progress was being made to reach a peace agreement between Iran and the US.   Nothing really is making into the main stream media about progress but the pullback in crude prices is a direct sign that at least the oil traders are thinking the war will be coming to an end.

The two-week weather forecast for much of the US Corn Belt is showing a nice amount of precipitation to get the freshly planted crops growing.  This is seen as a benefit for both corn and soybean growth and yield potential for this year and as such prices pulled lower.  It sure does seem interesting that our markets traded yesterday looking more at the supply side of the balance sheet then outside geopolitical events. 

Weekly ethanol production jumped up 2.5% last week in the US to come in at 1.111 million barrels per day.  Blender demand increased 1% over the week and ethanol exports were steady.  As such ethanol stocks did not change very much and came in at 24.9 million barrels.  We should remember that ethanol remains very price attractive for blending requirements with the current high price of crude oil. 

Even with the current pullback on the CBOT harvest prices for this year are still strong.  I would like to congratulate our farmers yesterday who made some harvest contracts and also those who set Target Orders.  It is not too late to start your sales for this year’s harvest and anytime is a good time to set some realistic Target Orders.  Give us a call anytime to discuss how we can assist you with your marketing decisions.