| OPENING CALLS : CORN - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 9 TO 12 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Monday after trading higher earlier in the session. The December futures reached 4.38 3/4 and ran into heavy resistance once again. Demand for corn at this level seems to fall off and prices drop. Harvesting is underway in the central and southern corn belt regions. Mississippi and Arkansas are approaching 50% done with their corn harvest. Tennessee is harvesting corn and indications are that yields are running up to 30% below expectations.USDA released their crop condition scores yesterday improving the corn crop to 70% good to excellent which was up 1 % from last week. US weather forecasts remain favorable for much of the Midwest, however, drying will continue to occur in the Southern Midwest where soils are already drying out. The soybean market closed 1 1/2 cents higher on Monday as all indications continue to point to a record soybean crop. USDA estimated the US soybean crop at 64% good to excellent which was a 2 % drop from the previous week. The trade was looking for a rating near 68% G-E. Some traders fear that prices at these levels will start to lower demand. The overnight markets spent most of the session trading lower. Weaker equity markets and lower crude oil prices all weighed negatively on the markets. In the overnight trade corn closed down 8 cents, beans were 7 cents lower and wheat closed down 11 1/2 cents. Today look for the markets to open lower in line with the overnight settlements. 8-23-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 13 TO 15 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents higher on Friday in another day of moderate fund buying. Pro Farmer estimated corn production Friday afternoon at 13.29 billion bushels with a yield of 164.1 bushels per acre. Iowa's corn yield was pegged to be 6% lower than last year coming in at an expected 169 BPA . Excessive rains during June caused a lot of stress on the corn crop, limiting yield potential. The tour put the average corn yield for Minnesota at 185 BPA nearly unchanged from last year. Illinois corn yields also came in at on par with last year's yields. Hot and dry temperatures in August limited the upside potential of the corn yields in Illinois. Some harvest is actually going on as far north as south central Illinois. The soybean market closed 8 cents lower on Friday on talk that China may release some of their vegetable oil reserves in an effort to cap prices there. Weather forecasts also showed some moisture over the weekend in Missouri and Illinois. Weather in the Delta and southern states is expected to be mostly favorable during the next couple of weeks. The Pro Farmer tour results released Friday night put the US soybean crop at 3.50 billion bushels with the yield pegged at 44.9 BPA. USDA's August estimate was projected at 3.433 billion bushels with a yield of 44.0. Every state except Ohio showed higher pod counts than last year. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were 5 cents higher and wheat closed 14 cents higher. Today look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 1/2 cents higher on Friday on continued buying by the funds. There was no new fundamental developments to justify the upswing in the markets on Friday. Some in the trade, however, feel that the 165 bpa yields projected by the USDA on Thursday might be a little overstated. The strong demand for grain products has given the market some support over the last couple of weeks. Pro Farmer will be doing their Midwest crop tour this week. The crop condition report will be released this afternoon with the trade expecting a 1 to 2% drop in corn condition. Corn harvest will be getting underway in the southern corn belt in the next week or two. The soybean market closed 15 1/2 cents higher on Friday on moderate fund buying. The funds bought 4000 contracts of beans on Friday and are now long approximately 130,000 contracts of soybeans. Early yield reports are beginning to come in from the southern states. Both Mississippi and Louisiana have bean yields coming in at or above lat year's levels. Soybean condition reports will be released after the market closes today with estimates of 1 to 2 % lower than last week. The latest forecasts are calling for cooler temperatures this week followed by a return to warmer temperatures the following week. A couple of episodes of rain are likely this week. In the overnight trade corn closed a penny higher, beans were down 4 cents and wheat closed up 1/2 cent. Look for a market opening in line with the overnight trade. 8-11-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - STEADY WHEAT - 2 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 9 cents lower on Tuesday as traders began to position themselves ahead of Thursday's USDA Supply Demand report. Thursday's report could show record corn production but the trade is expecting to see a reduction in corn carryover numbers for both this year and next year. The average guess for for Thursday's report has corn production at a record 13.28 billion bushels with a yield of 164.1 bushels per acre. Some downward pressure on commodities yesterday was also due to a stronger US dollar and a lower stock market. In regards to the weather, mostly hot and dry conditions continue in the southern and central regions of the growing area. This is putting some stress on the crops in this region. Cooler weather is supposed to enter the picture starting this weekend. The soybean market closed 13 cents lower on Tuesday as liquidation ahead of Thursday's report came into play. Pre-report estimates came in showing record bean production of 3.366 billion bushels with an average yield of 43.2 bushels per acre. Ending stocks are expected to show a decline in both 2009-10 and 2010-11. A stronger dollar and weakness in crude oil also aided in the downward pressure on soybean prices yesterday. Prior to the open, USDA announced that 400,000 tons of US beans were sold to China, 100,000 tons were sold to Egypt and 180,000 tons were sold to unknown destinations. That, however, had little impact on price direction. In the overnight trade, corn and beans closed unchanged and wheat closed up 3 cents. This morning look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 11 TO 13 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down a penny yesterday after starting off the session on a higher note. Corn prices gathered support early in the session from higher wheat prices. There was talk yesterday that Russia was considering a plan to restrict their wheat exports. Some in the trade believe that they will only be able to export 11 million tons of wheat next season due to a severe drought in their country. Weather forecasts supporting favorable crop prospects in the US for this growing season, however, weighed on corn prices later in the session. No extreme heat is anticipated through the middle of August for the Midwest. Adequate moisture for the crops is also predicted during that time frame. The soybean market closed unchanged yesterday after gaining support early in the session form rumors of more Chinese imports of soybeans from the US. The latest forecasts continue to look good for crop development into early August. Soybean condition reports continue to hold steady to better going into August with the crop maturity running slightly ahead of normal. Reports out of China are saying that their August soybean imports will be down to 3.88 million tons. In July China imported 5.59 MMT and during the month of June China imported a record 6.2 MMT. In the overnight trade corn closed 5 cents higher, beans were up 7 cents and wheat closed 13 cents higher. Most of the strength in the overnight markets was due to concerns over wheat conditions in Russia and the European countries. Long term bullishness in the grains might be hard to sustain given the latest weather forecasts. 7-27-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents lower on Monday as some much needed rainfall soaked some of the drier areas across the Midwest over the weekend. The 6 to 10 day forecast calls for conditions favorable for crop development. No extremely hot temperatures are expected during this period. Some precipitation is likely to occur as cool fronts move across the Midwest from time to time. Corn export numbers came out yesterday better than expected at 42.4 million bushels. Chinese imports of corn this year will likely exceed 1.7 million tonnes. The last time China imported this much corn from the US was back in 1995. A poor start to this year's corn crop in China and a bad harvest last year has resulted in increased demand for US crops. The soybean market closed 19 cents lower on Monday as good rains fell across the Midwest and across the dry Delta areas. This will really help pod set and filling in the areas where good rainfall was reported. On Monday afternoon's crop condition report, 67% of the bean crop was reported to be in the good to excellent category which was unchanged from last week. On August 12th, USDA will estimate new crop yields and production and create a new supply demand projection. In the overnight trade corn closed up 5 cents, beans were 6 cents higher and wheat closed 9 cents higher. This morning look for the markets to open higher in line with the overnight settlements. Given the current weather forecasts any long term rallies will be hard to sustain. 7-21-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 1/2 cents lower on further liquidation yesterday in the corn market. Favorable weather forecasts through July will get the corn crop through the critical pollination phase without many problems. The central and southern Illinois areas received from 1 to 2 inches of rain over the past couple of days. Rains are forecast to spread into northern areas of the state on Thursday and Friday. Harvest will be earlier this year with some crops in Illinois beginning to be combined in August. Southern Texas has already begun to harvest some corn with early yields a little better than expected. The soybean market closed up 3 cents on Tuesday on continued strong export demand. USDA announced the sale of 110,000 tons of US beans to China. Buying interest also resumed yesterday by the funds as an ever tight old crop supply situation continues to be worrisome to the trade. The recent heat and dryness in the Delta region has some concerned about yield reductions for this year's crops in that area. Traders shrugged off the improvement in the soybean crop conditions report until further confirmation of improvement in the weather is verified. In the overnight trade corn closed up 4 cents, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed 6 cents higher. Look for the grain markets to open higher this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-20-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 6 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 5 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 13 cents lower on Monday as some of the weather premium was taken out of the grain markets. The latest weather forecast shows no high pressure ridge setting up across the corn belt in the near future and some rainfall is expected over the next 5 days. The funds decided to liquidate some of their long positions due to the change in the forecasts. The corn crop condition report released yesterday afternoon showed a drop of 1% coming in at 72% good to excellent. Corn export inspections came in pretty much in line with expectations at 38.9 million bushels which was a little disappointing since 55 million bushels is needed to stay on pace with USDA's export projections for this year. The soybean market closed 11 1/2 cents lower on Monday as weather forecasts turned more favorable for crop development in the Midwest. Soybean exports were a little disappointing last week coming in at only 6.8 million bushels. The trade needs a weekly soybean export of 12 million bushels to stay on pace with USDA's projected totals. The soybean crop conditions improved by 2% to 67% good to excellent on yesterday's report. Weakness from the corn market and improving forecasts weighed on bean values all day. The rains forecast across the Midwest over the next several days will be very good for pod fill and will help to improve soybean yields this year. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents, beans were 4 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 6 cents. Look for the markets to see more liquidation this morning as more weather premium may be extracted from prices. 7-19-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER BEANS : 8 TO 11 CENTS LOWER WHEAT : 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents higher on Friday after trading in a choppy session. A change in the weather forecasts calling for more moderate temperatures with some rainfall across the Midwest put a little pressure on prices. Some fund buying did surface near the close to give the corn market a slightly higher finish. This afternoon USDA will release their crop rating estimates. Corn ratings are expected to come in unchanged to possibly 1% lower. Last week the crop rating came in at 73% good to excellent which surprised the trade by being 2% higher than the previous week. USDA will also release their export inspections this morning. The trade is looking for corn export numbers to fall between 35 and 40 million bushels. The soybean market finished 3 cents lower on Friday in a day of two sided trade. Weather forecasts adding more rain to the equation caused the slightly lower bias on Friday. The US does remain competitive, however, on old crop soybeans. Their continues top be rumors of additional Chinese interest for US beans. No new confirmations have been released yet. The trade is looking for a decline in the soybean crop condition this afternoon of 1 to 2%. Tight old crop supplies and weather uncertainties are likely to support soybean prices especially at any lower levels. In the overnight trade corn closed 7 cents lower, beans were down 8 cents and wheat closed 4 cents higher. Wheat prices were supported overnight by continued warm and dry conditions in Russia. Look for the corn and bean markets to open lower this morning with wheat likely to open a little higher. 7-14-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 1/2 cents lower on Tuesday after trading as much as 3 cents higher during the session. Strength from outside markets and a weaker dollar led to some buying interest by the funds early in the session. The increase of 2% in the corn crop condition rating, however, limited any real rally attempts. The corn rating is now 2 points better than last year at 73% good to excellent and is the highest rating on this date since the bumper crop of 2004. Favorable forecasts for the next two weeks also weighed on values as the trading session wore on. Nearly 38% of the corn crop is now reported to be in the pollination phase and the weather has not produced any damaging temperatures to hurt the crop. The soybean market closed 3 cents lower yesterday after trading higher early in the session. Before the market opened yesterday, talk circulated in the trade that China might have purchased 1 or 2 cargoes of US soybeans. That coupled with the lower crop rating and continued weather concerns in the southern states got the market off to an early rally. When no confirmation came on the expected sales to China, the funds began to lose interest and the market sold off. The soybean market, however, still remains in a seasonal uptrend and prices could continue to work a little higher in the coming days. In the overnight trade corn closed up 1 1/2 cents, beans were 3 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed up 1/2 cent. This morning look for the markets to open a little higher with trade expected on both sides of the close today. We could see a choppy session today as crude oil prices are lower and the dollar is a little weaker this morning. 7-13-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Monday as funds sold 6000 corn contracts on the day. A slightly bearish USDA report on Friday has caused some liquidation in the trade. A stronger dollar and weaker outside markets also contributed to the sell off. The crop condition report released yesterday afternoon showed an improvement of 2% in the corn crop ratings. The nations corn crop is now rated 73% good to excellent. The trade was looking for a small drop in the ratings. Recent weather models continue to show a favorable pattern for crop development. Warm temperatures are expected to continue across the Midwest with several opportunities for showers over the next two weeks. The soybean market closed 4 1/2 cents higher yesterday as tight old crop supplies helped to support the bean prices. Soybean export inspections came in yesterday in line with expectations at 6.515 million bushels. Soybean crop conditions came in at 65% good to excellent which was 1% lower than last week. Hot and dry weather conditions in the southern states should continue to support bean prices. Higher energy prices and stronger equity markets this morning should help to provide some strength. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 1/2 cents, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat prices closed down 2 cents. Look for the corn and wheat markets to come under pressure this morning with beans opening higher. 7-5-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 10 TO 12 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 1 1/2 cents lower on Friday in a day of choppy trade. Some profit taking came into the market as traders approached the 3 day holiday weekend. Informa released their yield estimates for corn and soybeans on Friday. They estimated corn yields to come in at 163.5 BPA. USDA will release their crop condition report this afternoon. The trade is expecting to see a decline again this week of 1 to 2% in the corn ratings. Russia has lowered their grain production estimate by nearly 5 million metric tons. The soybean market closed 7 1/2 cents higher on Friday on short covering ahead of the July 4th holiday weekend. There was talk in the trade that China may have purchased some new crop beans helping to support the market. Informa estimated the soybean yield at 43.4 BPA. Last year's soybean crop came in at 44 BPA. This afternoon USDA will report soybean conditions. The trade is looking for a drop of 1 to 2% mainly due to the hot dry weather in the Delta. Illinois still has over 500,000 acres of soybeans yet to be planted. Many of them, however, should get planted this week with better weather conditions expected. In the overnight trade corn closed up 6 cents, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed up 11 cents. Overnight prices were higher on stronger equity markets. Look for the markets to open higher this morning, however, they are bumping up against some resistance levels. 7-2-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 10 1/2 cents higher on Thursday in another day of fund buying following the bullish USDA report released on Wednesday morning. The trade is still concerned about dry conditions in the Delta. Also this past week, analysts are lowering their forecasts for Russia's crop this year by 4 to 5 million tons due to drought. Informa will be releasing their latest crop production estimates this morning. Their was talk in the trade yesterday that Malaysia may be interested in buying some US corn in the next couple of days. The soybean market closed 5 cents stronger on Thursday as more soy products have been sold to China. Prior to the open of the markets yesterday, USDA announced the sale of 40,000 tons of soybean oil to China for new crop delivery. Soybean exports came in at 26.3 million bushels with 56% of the sales made to China this past week. The latest weather models show conditions favorable for crop development. The remnants of Hurricane Alex will clash with a cool front as it moves across the Midwest. Widespread rain will be likely from Kansas and Missouri spreading into southern Illinois and Kentucky early next week. This will be followed by a drier weather pattern. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were unchanged and wheat closed a penny lower. Today look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close in a rather tight trading range. Some profit taking will likely occur today prior to the close due to the upcoming 3 day weekend. 7-1-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 29 cents higher on Wednesday after a very bullish acreage and stocks report. USDA lowered corn plantings down to 87.9 million acres from their March 31st estimates of 88.8. The trade was actually looking for the corn acreage number to come out around 89.2 million acres. With a yield this year of 164 bushels per acre, the corn crop for 2010 could come in around 13.3 billion bushels. June 1st stocks also came in much lower than expected at 4.310 billion bushels. The trade was looking for a number around 4.6. This year's carryout could now be reduced to 1.35 billion bushels which is much tighter than previously thought. Weather suddenly becomes a much more important factor now for this year's crop. The soybean market closed only a penny higher as USDA raised soybean acreage to 78.9 compared to USDA's March 31st estimate of 78.1. The June 1st soybean stocks estimate came in below expectations at 571 million bushels. The trade was looking for a number close to 595. This year's carryout of soybeans could come in near 175 million bushels which is a reduction from previous estimates. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 cents, beans were 1 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed up 1 1/2 cents. Today look for the markets to open higher and then trade on both sides of the close. This morning the dollar is trading lower nearly .5% with the Euro. If the Euro continues to be supported then the Dollar will continue to weaken which should support commodity prices. 6-30-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 10 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 9 cents lower on Tuesday as concerns over the economic recovery dropped the stock market over 200 points and increased fund selling in the commodities markets. Also improving weather forecasts in the US took some of the weather premium out of the markets yesterday. Moderating temperatures with no signs of a dominating high pressure ridge will be favorable for crop development. The acreage report released this morning for corn came out below analysts estimates at 87.87 million acres. The average guess was 89.23and USDA's March estimate was 88.8. Corn stocks for June 1 st came out at 4.31 billion bushels compared to estimates of 4.598. Both reports will be friendly to corn this morning. The soybean market closed 8 cents lower on Tuesday on continued liquidation in the commodities. Prior to the open yesterday USDA announced the sales of 230,000 tons of soybeans to China. This gave the markets a little boost on the opening, however, soybeans were not able to sustain the gains into the close of the markets. The acreage report on soybeans released this morning came out at 78.87 million acres which was higher than the average guess of 78.18 million acres and above USDA's March estimate of 78.1 million acres. Soybean June 1st stocks numbers came out lower than expected at 571 million bushels compared with guesses at 594. In the overnight trade corn closed 6 cents higher, beans were up 4 1/2 cents and wheat closed 4 1/2 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning based on the bullish USDA reports. 6-28-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Friday as the market continued in a liquidation mode. Funds sold nearly 6000 contracts on the day. Traders are looking for a larger acreage number for corn on the June 30th acreage and stocks report. A cooler and drier weather forecast for this week will help crop conditions. The demand side on corn has been improving with China continuing to buy US corn to help cool down their domestic prices. The soybean market closed 1 1/2 cents higher on Friday as many in the trade are expecting to see a decrease in the crop condition report to be released this afternoon. This afternoon's report is also expected to show that between 2 to 4% of the soybean crop will remain to be planted yet. Traders will be positioning themselves ahead of Wednesday's acreage and stocks report. The trade is looking for 78.3 million acres to go into soybeans on this report. Last month's report came in at 78.1 million acres. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were a penny higher and wheat closed down 3 cents. Today look for the markets to open in line with the overnight trade. Corn prices are likely to drift lower while bean prices will see support at lower levels. 6-25-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT- STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents lower on Thursday as liquidation continued in the corn market. Weather forecasts calling for a return to drier and cooler conditions next week continued to weigh negatively on corn prices. Strong corn exports of 44.2 million bushels helped to support the market going into the opening, but buying interest quickly eroded. Traders will focus their attention now on the stocks and acreage report to be released on June 30th. Traders will soon be positioning themselves in anticipation of that report. The soybean market closed down 2 1/2 cents on Thursday in a day of two sided trade. Export sales came out better than expected at 11.3 million bushels and gave the market a boost on the opening. Japan and China were the main buyers. The market rally was overshadowed by forecasts calling for cooler and wetter conditions for the Delta area. This region has been plagued with hot and dry conditions for several weeks. Rainfall right now in this area could add greatly to yield potential there. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans were up 2 cents and wheat closed down a penny. Today look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. Corn is expected to trade on both sides of the close with beans likely to be higher during much of the session. 6-24-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 cents lower on Wednesday on continued fund selling. Although many areas across the Midwest have had too much rainfall over the past month, traders still believe that rain makes grain. Early planting this spring and warm temperatures have really pushed the corn crop along. Pollination will run a couple of weeks ahead of normal this year which should allow it to occur before the heat of the summer. This should be conducive to good yield potential. The soybean market closed 7 1/2 cents lower yesterday on lower outside markets and concerns that the economy may not be recovering as fast as earlier thought. The home sales market dropped nearly 33% in May, giving the optimism over the economy a major setback. The soybean crush numbers released this morning came out about as expected at 133.8 million bushels. Both soybean meal and oil stocks were much higher than expectations. This may be a result of the strong competition out of South America. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed up 2 cents. Today look for the markets to open higher and then take direction from the influence of the outside markets. Currently energy and equity markets are trading a little lower this morning. 6-23-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 1/2 cents lower on Tuesday as weaker outside markets, a stronger dollar and calls for generally better weather forecasts put downward pressure on prices. Some areas in the Midwest have received some heavy rains and flooding over the past couple of weeks but this is being overshadowed by good growing conditions in many areas with drier conditions forecast for next week. Many in the trade are looking for more corn purchases to be made by China in the coming weeks. This would continue to put a positive outlook on corn prices. The soybean market closed 2 cents higher yesterday as weather worries continue to add some premium to soybean prices and talk that China may continue to buy some US beans and soybean oil helped to support prices. The trade also believes that many acres in Canada will not get planted to Canola this year because of the wet weather this spring. The US still has 7% of the soybean crop yet to be planted and the Delta area is dealing with hot and dry conditions which could have a big impact on on soybean production this year. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were down 3 cents and wheat closed up 4 cents. Look for the markets to start off a little lower this morning with the markets likely to find some support at these lower levels. 6-22-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 6 cents lower on Monday after being as much as 6 cents higher early in the session. The early run up in prices was caused by a weaker dollar and a hot dry forecast for the South. When the dollar started to recover, traders decided to take profits and that fueled the sell off. Corn export sales came out much lower than expected also adding to the quick drop in corn prices yesterday. Monday afternoon's weekly condition report showed the corn crop to be rated 75% good to excellent which is a 2% drop from last week. However, last year the crop was only rated 70% good to excellent. The soybean market closed 2 cents higher yesterday on higher outside markets and on talk of Chinese purchases of soybeans. Rumors circulated last week that China may buy up to 12 cargoes of beans mostly out of South America and possibly some out of the US. Soybean planting progress only gained 2% last week with the crop now still only 92% planted. Wet weather continues to delay planting with over 5 million acres yet unplanted. The soybean crop rating dropped to 69% good to excellent from last week's 73%. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were up 1/2 cent and wheat closed down 3 cents. Today look for the markets to start off lower and then trade on both sides of the close. Energy and equities markets are both a little lower this morning. 6-18-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher on Thursday. Export sales came out strong at 1.09 MMT yesterday on old crop with China taking 4.7 million bushels. The trade is looking for additional sales to China to be made in the coming weeks. China has purchased 835,000 tons of US corn so far this year. EPA has once again delayed the decision on allowing a 15% blend to be used in reformulated gasoline. EPA says that they will not make the final decision until fall when the DOE is to complete their testing on newer vehicles. Informa is expected to release their latest acreage numbers today. The trade is looking for a modest increase in corn acres over last months estimate. The soybean market closed 6 cents lower yesterday on disappointing export sales as Japan reported a cancellation of 270,000 metric tons. Rumors in the trade however continue to circulate that China is looking for more soybeans either out of South America or the United States. No confirmation has yet been made. Informa will estimate soybean acreage today around mid morning. Some in the trade are looking for a slight drop in acreage from the May estimate. The Canadian Canola crop is still vulnerable to losses this year due to the recent heavy rains there. Wheat and oat plantings have also been seriously delayed. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were up 3 cents and wheat closed down 1 1/2 cents. Look for the market today to have a difficult time sustaining any rally attempts ahead of the weekend. 6-16-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN -STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Monday on a weaker dollar and stronger outside markets. Continued strong demand for corn has also upheld prices. Confirmation of corn sales to the Chinese for old crop delivery continues to be a welcome surprise to the trade this year. Current weather forecasts call for a warmer and drier trend across the Midwest over the next 6 to 10 days. This will be great for crop development. Corn crop ratings continue to improve as noted on yesterday's report. The corn crop is rated 77% good to excellent which is 1% higher than last week. The soybean market closed 5 cents higher yesterday mainly on ideas that Canada may have several million acres of Canola that may not get planted this year. Some areas across the Midwest have received too much rain further delaying soybean planting progress in some areas. Soybean crop condition ratings slipped back 2% from their 75% good to excellent rating down to 73 last week. Too wet of conditions are showing some yellowing of beans as a result of fertilizer loss. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were 1 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed down 1/2 cent. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning with trade expected on both sides of the close. 6-14-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 6 cents higher on Friday on continued follow through form USDA's bullish report released on Thursday and on reports that China had bought an additional 3 cargoes of US corn for delivery between July to October. Many in the trade feel that China will need to continue to import more corn because fewer corn acres were planted there this year and the crop was put in under adverse conditions. The trade will monitor weather conditions in China closely this year for any further deterioration in crop yields. Weather conditions in the US remain favorable for crop growth and development and will limit any real rally attempts. The soybean market closed 11 cents higher on Friday as funds became net buyers on the day. It was reported that China purchased some soybean oil for this crop year which gave the soybean market a boost. USDA will be out with their crop ratings this afternoon. The trade is expecting the soybean rating to show that 75% of the crop is in good to excellent condition.They are looking for 90% of the nations soybean crop to now be planted. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were up 4 cents and wheat closed 6 cents higher. This morning look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. 6-11-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 cents higher on Thursday after yesterday's bullish USDA supply-demand report. USDA dropped 09-10 corn ending stocks by 135 million bushels to 1.603 billion bushels and dropped next year's carryout by 245 million bushels down to 1.573. Most of this was a result of an increase in corn usage for ethanol. On this report USDA left both yield and production estimates for this year's corn crop unchanged. Favorable weather is forecast over the next two weeks which will promote very good conditions or crop development. This has been a limiting factor in any rally attempts on the part of the grain markets. The soybean market closed 8 1/2 cents lower yesterday on a neutral USDA report for beans.USDA lowered old crop carryout by 5 million bushels from the previous month down to 185 million bushels on an increase in soybean crush. New crop carryout for 2010-11 was also lowered by a like amount. USDA left exports, production and yield unchanged for the 2010 crop. The big news yesterday was talk that China was cancelling 5 to 8 cargoes of old crop shipments out of South America due to backups at Chinese ports. This gave the soybean market a negative tone yesterday. In the overnight trade corn closed up 1 1/2 cents, beans were nearly unchanged and wheat closed up a penny. Look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements and trade on both sides of the close today. 5-26-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 5 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents lower on Tuesday on downward pressure from the outside markets and a stronger dollar. Crude oil was down $2.50 per barrel at one time yesterday. Prospects look very good right now for this year's corn crop with the early planting and nearly ideal growing conditions. The trade is keeping an eye on tensions between North and South Korea. Financial problems in the European Union are also keeping the dollar stronger and are making the outside markets weaker which are both working against commodity prices. Monday nights planting progress report showed an increase of 15% in planting progress over a week ago. Beans are getting planted at a pace exceeding last year in which record yields were achieved. Weather across the Midwest continues favorable for crop development and planting will continue in many areas. The latest 6 to 10 day forecasts call for normal temperatures and normal to above normal rainfall. Cash soybean basis remains firm on slow farmer selling. In the overnight trade corn closed up 5 cents, beans were 7 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed up 6 cents. Prices were higher overnight on strong crude oil markets, a weaker dollar and a better outlook for equity markets. Look for commodities to open higher this morning. 5-25-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 6 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 10 TO 13 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents higher on Monday as the corn trade carried over from Friday's strong close. The recent Chinese purchase of US corn has held the market firm despite the overall bearishness of large new crop prospects, weaker outside markets and a stronger dollar. The planting progress reports released yesterday afternoon showed that 93% of the nations corn crop is now planted with a 71% rating of good to excellent. Both of these numbers bode well for high yield potential for this years crop. Many areas could see knee high corn by Memorial Day. The soybean market closed nearly unchanged yesterday after being in higher territory much of the day. Soybean export inspections came in at 3.9 million bushels which was below trade expectations. The soybean planting progress report came in a little lower than expected at 54% planted nationwide. The trade was looking for a number near 58%. The stronger dollar and weaker outside markets continue to limit the upside potential of commodity prices. In the overnight trade corn closed down 5 1/2 cents, beans were 10 cents lower and wheat closed down 5 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and trade lower much of the day unless the dollar weakens and outside markets turn higher. 5-24-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents higher on Friday as USDA announced another sale of corn to China. On Friday it was reported that China purchased 118,000 tons of corn from the US bringing the total to nearly 500,000 tons. China is trying to bring down domestic prices by importing cheaper US corn. The trade continues to focus on the weather to get ideas for the US corn and bean production for this year. Much above normal temperatures this week has the trade wondering if these conditions will persist into the summer months. Late summer heat and dryness are typical of a La Nina weather pattern. The soybean market closed 3 cents lower on Friday as soybean prices took a different path than corn. There was some talk in the trade that China was looking to delay or even cancel some soybean imports due to heavy import schedules. This afternoon's planting progress report is expected to show that over 50% of the nations soybean crop is now planted. Last week's report showed 38% was planted. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans were up 5 cents and wheat closed 3 cents lower. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning with possible downward pressure from lower outside markets. The dollar was much stronger this morning due to continued financial problems in the European Union. 5-20-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 1/2 cent on Wednesday after being much lower earlier in the trading session. A stronger dollar and lower cude oil prices helped to set the lower tone for the markets. China was rumored to have purchased 2 more cargoes of corn and some feed companies in China are trying to get more corn import quotas to keep local prices under control. Latest long range weather forecasts continue to call for warmer and drier conditions across the Midwest which will be very good for early crop development. The soybean market closed a penny lower on Wednesday on a lack of any new bullish news. Some light commercial buying did help to limit the downward trend. The weather forecasts continue to look better, however, some areas are expected to get rain today and into Friday. Heavier amounts will be across Iowa and Missouri and into Southern Illinois over the next couple of days. This will delay planting there until late next week when conditions are expected to improve. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were nearly unchanged and wheat closed down 2 cents. This morning look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close. Any rally attempts will be difficult to sustain unless outside markets start to show some strength during the session. Crude oil is trading 1 to 2 dollars per barrel lower this morning. 5-19-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Tuesday on short covering in the marketplace. Many traders believe that China will be back in the market to purchase more corn in the near future. A weaker dollar and stronger outside markets also helped to support prices yesterday. The forecast for the Midwest still calls for warmer temperatures with limited rainfall in the coming days. This will be good for crop development. The soybean market closed 1 1/2 cents lower on Tuesday after a stronger start earlier in the session. The market opened a little higher on lower than expected planting reports released on Monday afternoon. Soybean plantings only came in at 38% nationwide while the trade was expecting a number between 40 to 45% planted. Between that and a weaker dollar, the market was given some early momentum. Prices turned lower when the dollar strengthened later on in the trading session causing beans to close lower. The markets are struggling to hold on to any rally attempts especially with an improving weather forecast which will allow planting progress to continue later this week. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were down a penny and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Look for the markets to open steady this morning but struggle on any rally attempts. 5-18-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents lower on Monday as weak outside markets gave grain prices no incentive to move higher. A stonger dollar and improving weather forecasts that show a warmer pattern ahead also weighed on prices. Corn export inspections came in better than expected at 38.5 million bushels. Yesterday afternoon's planting report showed that 87% of the nations corn crop is now planted with 55% emerged. Crop conditions came in at 67% good to excellent. Weather forecasts are calling for improved conditions over the next 10 days with warming temperatures which will be good for crop development. The soybean market closed 12 1/2 cents lower on Monday as any bullish news was hard to come by . Crude oil prices dropped below 70 dollars per barrel yesterday, the lowest in recent months. The soybean planting progress report came in at 38% planted nationwide compared to the 5 year average of 35%. Improving weather forecasts should allow for planting progress to resume in the near future. Soybean export inspections came in a little better than expected yesterday at 8.47 million bushels. In the overnight trade corn closed up 4 cents, beans were up 8 cents and wheat closed 4 1/2 cents higher. Look for grain prices to move higher this morning on stronger outside markets , a weaker dollar and generally oversold conditions. 5-17-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 10 cents lower on Friday on a stronger dollar, lower outside markets and continued financial concerns in Europe. Prior to the opening on Friday, USDA announced a sale of 100,000 tons of corn to Japan. This, however, was not enough to give the market any upward momentum. There was some talk on Friday that China may have purchased another cargo or two of US corn. Confirmation of this will likely not be revealed until the export numbers are released on Thursday. Overnight the Euro dropped to levels not seen since 2006 and the dollar was sharply higher. The soybean market closed 11 cents lower on Friday on the lack of any new positive development in the grain markets. The latest crush figures were considered bearish and came in nearly 18 million bushels below the March totals. Soybean oil stocks were also higher than they were last month. The US, however, still remains the cheapest source for soybeans despite the higher US dollar levels. US soyoil is also competitve with South America. Today's planting progress report is expected to come in at somewhere between 40 to 45 % planted on soybeans. Weather is expected to improve this week with the latest 6 to 10 day forecast calling for above normal temperatures and normal precipitation. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were 6 cents lower and wheat closed up 1/2 cent. Look for the grain markets to open steady to lower this morning. Favorable weather forecasts and lower outside markets will make it difficult for the prices to rally today. 5-14-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 9 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 cents lower on Thursday as USDA announced more corn sales to China with total purchases nearing 700,000 tons. The trade has shrugged this off as they feel that corn stocks this year are more than adequate to accomodate these sales. There is also concerns this morning that the attempted European Union bailout program may fail. This is causing more strength in the US dollar and lower crude oil prices this morning. This may give the markets a weaker tone today. The soybean market closed down a penny yesterday on the lack of any new bullish news. Bean export sales came in yesterday at 17.5 million bushels with Mexico being the largest buyer. The latest weather models show another chance for rain early next week for the Midwest, followed by warmer and drier conditions. A high pressure ridge is expected to set up after that keeping moisture out of the Midwest until late May. This should allow for soybean planting to get wrapped up. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 cents, beans were 9 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and struggle on any rally attempts due to lower outside markets and a stronger dollar. 5-13-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up a penny after trading much higher early in the session. News that another 6 cargoes of corn were sold to China was enough to give the market a sharp boost in prices. There is talk that another 15 cargoes of US corn is likely to be purchased by China. The corn is being purchased by the state for use by the feed mills. This is an attempt by China to keep their domestic prices for corn from getting to high. This is leading to ideas in the trade that China's corn crop last year may have been well below USDA's projections. Weather conditions have now turned wet across much of the Midwest with some areas getting more rain than needed. The soybean market closed down 1/2 cent on Wednesday after a sharp runnup in prices led by corn sales to China. Profit taking quickly entered the marketplace and eroded the early price gains. On the supply-demand report issued yesterday, USDA is estimating a bean crop for this year at over 3.3 billion bushels. If that comes to fruition, it would be the second largest bean crop on record. They projected a carryout for this year of 190 million bushels and 365 for next year. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were down a penny and wheat closed down 2 cents. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning with downward pressure coming from the lower outside markets and a stronger dollar. 5-12-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 7 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 6 1/2 cents higher on Tuesday after USDA lowered the US corn carryout by 161 million bushels for this year. USDA lowered the yields in both North and South Dakota on last year's crop reducing total production by 21 million bushels. USDA increased corn use for ethanol by 100 million bushels for the coming year. Corn exports were increased by 50 million bushels but feed usage for 09-10 was reduced. In news overnight, China bought 6 cargoes of US corn. This is in addition to the 2 cargoes bought previously. Additional corn sales to China are expected in the next couple of weeks to alleviate concerns in their domestic market for livestock producers. The soybean market closed 5 cents higher on Tuesday in a choppy market. USDA left the soybean carryout for this year unchanged at 190 million bushels. The trade was expecting this to be lowered. Ending stocks for next year were pegged at 365 million bushels. Soybean crop production is expected to come in at 3.31 billion bushels with a yield of 42.9 bushels per acre. South American numbers stayed the same with Brazil coming in at 68 million bushels and Argentina at 54. In the overnight trade corn closed up 6 1/2 cents, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed 5 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher but test resistance at 3.82 in July corn and 9.75 in July soybeans. 5-11-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 2 cents yesterday after opening higher on news of an IMF bailout of several European countries suffering from financial problems. This caused the dollar to weaken and drive outside markets higher which supported corn prices early in the session. There was also talk that China had issued import licenses for corn which the trade thought might be as much as 3 to 5 million metric tons. The corn market quickly dropped yesterday, however, as the dollar started to recover and buying interest for corn dwindled. The cold temperatures over the weekend were pretty much shrugged off by the trade as they felt that only minor damage would result to the the crop . The planting progress report showed that 81% of the nations corn crop is now planted which is ahead of the 5 year average of 62%. The soybean market closed 1 cent higher on Monday as equities and crude oil prices were up substantially. Forecasts for wet and cool weather to delay soybean plantings across the Midwest was also supportive to prices yesterday. The planting progress report issued yesterday afternoon showed that 30% of the nations soybean crop is now planted. That compares to the 5 year average of 19%. Weather this week will slow planting but conditions next week are forecast to turn warmer and drier. In the overnight trade corn closed 5 cents lower, beans were down 6 cents and wheat closed 2 cents lower. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 5-10-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 1 cent higher on Friday after closing sharply lower on Thursday due to the big stock market selloff. Traders are still trying to figure out the cause of the 1000 point drop which was partially inspired by the riots in Greece. This afternoon the planting progress report will be released with traders expecting numbers of over 80%. On Tuesday, USDA will release their monthly supply-demand report. Informa estimated the corn acreage on Friday putting it at 89.6 million planted which was higher than their last estimate and .8 million acres above USDA's last estimate. The soybean market closed 6 cents higher on Friday gaining some support from a weaker dollar and a lower soybean acreage estimate from Informa. Informa lowered their soybean acreage by 100 million acres down to 78.5 million. Their estimate, however, is still 400 million acres higher than USDA's March numbers. Tuesday the supply-demand numbers will be out with traders looking for a slightly lower soybean carryout number. The bean planting report out this afternoon is expected to show a number near 40% planted. In the overnight trade corn closed up 5 cents, beans were 9 cents higher and wheat closed up 2 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning based on stronger outside markets, a weaker dollar and talk of a European bailout package by the IMF. 5-6-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO BETTER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Wednesday on more rumors of possible Chinese interest in US corn. Talk that the Chinese may have interest in as much as 8 to 10 additional cargoes of US corn circulated in the trade yesterday pushing corn futures higher. The market will need to see confirmation on these rumors in the next couple of days to keep the upward price momentum going. Traders yesterday were also concerned about talk of a possible frost in the northern corn belt over the weekend and whether or not this would damage any of the early planted corn crop. Informa will release their latest acreage estimates at mid morning on Friday. It will be interesting to see if they raise corn acreage with the good spring planting weather this year. The soybean market closed 9 cents lower on Wednesday as a stronger dollar, lower stock market and sharply lower crude oil prices helped to drive soybean prices lower yesterday. Weather forecasts continue to call for cooler and wetter conditions for next week which will slow down soybean plantings. Soybean exports came out below expectations this morning at 18.1 million bushels. The trade was looking for a number between 26 to 40. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were 1 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed down 4 cents. Corn exports numbers were friendly this morning coming out at 74.1 million bushels. The trade was only expecting a number about half of that. Corn prices may get a little boost from the strong export number this morning while beans and wheat may continue to struggle on lower outside market prices today. 5-5-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 3 cents on Tuesday after being much lower during the session. Some covering of short positions came into play prior to the close to give the market a little recovery from the lows of the day. The trade is still looking for confirmation of the supposed 4 to 6 cargoes of US corn the Chinese were rumored to have interest in. Outside markets also continued to weigh on grain prices as the US dollar hit a 12 month high yesterday. Financial problems in several European countries are weakening the Euro and strengthening the US Dollar. Midwest weather forecasts are calling for a little rain over the next 10 days along with cooler temperatures. The soybean market closed 1/2 cent higher yesterday after trading at a 3 week low during the session. The market recovery was attributed to weather forecasts calling for cool and wet conditions to persist across the corn belt over the next week to 10 days. Some are even calling for a frost in portions of the northern Midwest over the weekend. Soybean planting has moved along at a brisk pace over the past week and some expect to see the national soybean planting progress to come in at 40% on Monday's report. In the overnight trade corn closed 4 cents lower, beans were down 2 cents and wheat closed 4 cents lower. Look for the markets to open mixed to lower and put in a two sided trade today. Support may be limited due to pressure from the lower outside markets. 5-4-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 1/2 cents lower on Monday as traders anticipated a big number on Monday Afternoon's planting progress report. Failure to confirm the 4 to 6 cargoes of corn supposedly purchased by the Chinese also helped to drive prices lower yesterday. The weekly export inspections came out at 28.2 million bushels which was a little disappointing to the trade. The USDA planting report yesterday afternoon showed that 68% of the nation's corn crop is now planted which was at the high end of the traders expectations. Last year only 33% of the corn crop was planted at this time with the 5 year average only at 50%. The soybean market closed down 13 1/2 cents yesterday on a lack of any bullish news. A stronger dollar and good weather forecasts allowing planting progress to continue also weighed on prices yesterday. USDA reported that 15% of the nation's soybean crop is now in the ground. The Midwest states of Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and Minnesota ranged from 11% to 23% competed on soybean plantings. The average soybean planting rate for this time of year is only 8 %. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were 3 cents lower and wheat closed down 4 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning with any rally attempts difficult to sustain due to the lower outside markets and a lack of any new positive news. 5-3-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 9 1/2 cents higher yesterday after it was confirmed that China bought 115,000 metric tons of US corn out of the Pacific Northwest. This represents the most corn that China has purchased from the US since 2006. The big question now seem to be will china continue to buy more corn from us or is this only a one time deal ? The rally came despite weaker outside markets and a stronger dollar. The weather across the Midwest continues to be good for crop development with some more rains forecast for this weekend. The soybean market closed unchanged in the nearby bids but 4 cents higher for new crop yesterday. Soybeans struggled most of the day and were only pulled higher by the annoucement of China buying US corn. New crop soybeans closed higher because the market is contemplating that bean acres will be lost to corn because of the early planting season. This year's soybean carryout is only expected to be 190 million bushels and if many acres are shifted away from soybeans, then carryout stocks could grow even tighter. In the overnight trade corn closed up 3 cents, beans closed 2 cents higher and wheat was also up 3 cents. Today look for the markets to open steady to higher. The outside markets are somewhat supportive with the dollar lower and crude oil prices higher this morning. 4-28-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 5 cents on Tuesday as the bearish influence of the outside markets drove commodity prices lower yesterday. Crude oil was down over 2 dollars per barrel and the dollar was much stronger. Funds sold 7000 contracts of corn on Tuesday. With well over 50% of the nations corn crop planted and such an early start to spring, the question becomes how many more acres might go into corn than originally thought? Just when everything looks negative, then something comes along to run prices up again. In the overnight trade corn was up 6 cents on a rumor that China was in the market for US corn. Talk was that China feed users wanted to buy a little corn to test the quality. None of this business has yet been confirmed. The soybean market closed 16 cents lower yesterday as the negative sentiment spilled over into the soybean market. The financial problems in Greece and other European countries has caused the dollar to rally in recent weeks. This weakens US exports to foreign countries. In recent days Argentina has sold beans to China for July shipment. It was reported that Brazil recently sold China a shipment of soybean oil. China appears to be turning to South America for their nearby needs. In the overnight trade corn closed 6 cents higher, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed up 2 cents. Today look for the markets to open higher but then take direction on the rumors out of China to buy US corn and from outside market influences. 4-27-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down a penny on Monday after trading 6 cents higher early in the session. Early rumors that China may have purchased corn drove the market higher early but when the reports could not be confirmed the prices dropped. Export inspections for corn came in a little better than expected at 32.8 million bushels. The crop progress report yesterday afternoon showed that 50% of the nations corn crop is now planted compared to the 5 year average of 22%. Illinois now has 73% of their corn in the ground along with 68% in Iowa, 63% in Minnesota, 56% in Indiana, and 45% in Ohio. The soybean market closed a penny lower yesterday as a negative bias took over the marketplace. Wheat was sharply lower closing down 17 cents. It was reported on Monday that China bought 2 cargoes of beans from Argentina for July shipment. The Brazilian soybean harvest is now reported to be 94% complete with farmers having sold almost half of their crop to date. Soybean exports came in at 8 million bushels which was lower than expectations. It is still expected that US exports from April through June will remain strong as long as US soybeans stay competetive with Brazil. Some soybeans have been planted now in the Midwest but reporting is not expected to take place until this Monday's progress report. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 1/2 cents, beans were 6 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down a penny. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and struggle to find support. A stronger dollar and weaker outside markets will make it harder for prices to rally today. 4-26-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 7 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 9 cents on Friday on profit taking ahead of the weekend. Selling became evident from the start of the the trading session as the rapid start to planting followed by some needed rain was deemed to be very beneficial to early crop development. Some in the trade now believe that this afternoon's planting progress report could show that as much as 50% of the nations corn crop is planted. This would be well above the 5 year average. Weather forecasts remain favorable for crop development with warmer temperatures and some more rain expected for this weekend. The soybean market closed 4 cents lower on Friday after trading higher early in the session. Profit taking also came into play in the soybean market as traders headed into the weekend. The rain received over the weekend was viewed as a good thing as many areas were in need of moisture. Planting progress numbers out this afternoon are expected to show good progress for bean planting this past week. Some traders, however, will continue to think that a quick corn planting rate will lead to more corn acres going into the ground this spring taking away from beans. In the overnight trade corn closed up 4 cents, beans were 9 cents higher and wheat closed up 7 1/2 cents. Today look for the markets to open higher and then take direction from the outside markets and weather forecasts. 4-22-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN- STEADY BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Wednesday on continued short covering and buying interest by the funds. Weather forecasts continue to call for 1 to 2 inch rains across the cornbelt starting on Friday and lasting through the weekend. A couple of more storm systems are expected next week with a wetter system expected to move in late next week and into next weekend. The moisture will be welcome for the crops that are already planted. Monday afternoon the corn planting progress report is expected to show that nearly 40% of the nations corn crop will be planted as of Sunday night. The soybean market closed 12 cents higher yesterday on strong soybean demand. USDA announced another sale of US beans to China for new crop delivery. This brings total sales this week to nearly 406,000 MT. China has nearly twice as many new crop beans purchased this year compared to this time last year. Continued strong demand has helped to prop up soybean prices going into the planting season. Good weather is allowing for a lot of corn to be planted which could result in less bean acres being planted this year. Soybean basis firmed up some yesterday as farmer selling remains slow. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were 1 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed a penny lower. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning in line with the overnight trade. The outside markets are a little negative this morning with the dollar showing some strength on continued financial problems in Greece and also Ireland. 4-21-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 8 cents higher on Tuesday gaining back half of what they lost during Monday's session. Higher crude oil prices, a weaker dollar and short covering by traders helped to support prices yesterday. The latest weather forecasts call for 1 to 3 inch rains to fall across the Midwest starting on Friday and lasting through the weekend. This should help recharge some of the soil moisture that has been depleted over the past couple of weeks and will be good for early crop development. The soybean market closed 7 cents higher on Tuesday as demand for soybeans continues strong. USDA, yesterday morning, announced a sale to China for 232,000 tons of US new crop soybeans. Strong Chinese demand continues to prop up US prices. US soybean planting progress is moving along at a very quick pace. Southern states are planting at record speed. Soybeans in Texas are now 55% planted, Louisiana 27% vs 14% average, and Mississippi at 44% complete vs 31% average. Traders feel that US soybean yields this year will need to exceed 40 BPA to keep up with surging world demand. Some in the trade now see China importing 47 MMT of soybeans this year vs USDA's 43.5 MMT estimate. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were nearly unchanged and wheat closed 1/2 cent higher. Look for the markets to open steady to a touch higher in line with the overnight settlements. 4-20-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 16 cents lower on Monday on weaker outside markets, a stronger dollar and on ideas that planting progress is proceeding at record pace. Corn export inspections came out at 37.7 million bushels which was better than the anticipated 30 to 35. In Monday afternoon's progress report corn planting estimates came in at 19% nationwide which was near the record set in one week at 20% in 2004. Next week is also expected to see record planting progress confirmed. Illinois was pegged at 34% complete, Iowa at 19%, Indiana at 17%, Minnesota at 13%, and Ohio and Nebraska at 6 and 5% respectively. The soybean market closed 8 1/2 cents lower on Monday and closed the strongest of the three commodities yesterday. The bean strength came from ideas that more acres will likely be planted to corn given the good weather opportunities this spring. The downside to the good weather is that the Delta is also making rapid progress planting soybeans which could boost yields there this year. Soybean exports came in at came in at 15.7 million bushels which was just a little higher than the expected 11 to 14 million bushels. In the overnight trade corn closed up 3 1/2 cents, beans were 8 cents higher and wheat closed up 7 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning on higher outside markets, a weaker dollar and on ideas that the sell-off on Monday was overdone. Look for some buying interest to resume today. 4-19-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 7 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up a penny on Friday and ended the week 18 cents higher. Planting progress was rapid over the weekend with many in the trade expecting to see corn planting come in at 20% done on this afternoon's report. Much of this weeks weather also looks good at least until the weekend when widespread rains are forecast across the Midwest. Rains would be welcome as this will help in the germination process as soils have dried drastically in the last couple of weeks. Overnight markets were all lower this morning on continued concerns over the Goldman Sachs situation. The soybean market closed a penny higher on Friday and closed out the week at 37 cents higher. On Friday the funds bought 2000 bean contracts and are currently long around 45,000 contracts. Soybean prices were higher last week on ideas that the early planting season would allow for more corn and less beans to be planted this spring. Overnight markets were down on lower outside markets due to uncertainty over the Chinese economic growth as the government cracks down on investments. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents, beans were 7 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning on a stronger dollar, weaker outside markets and a record planting pace which is expected to continue through much of this week. 4-16-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 cents higher on Thursday on renewed fund buying. The rally effort the last couple of days has been mostly technical in nature and is not substantiated by any new positive developments. The forecast for the Midwest remains favorable for planting progress with only minor interruptions expected due to rain to impede progress. Record planting progress could be seen on Monday's report. The next potential rain event does not come until April 22nd. Weekly export inspections on Thursday's report came in a little better than expected for corn. Japan, Mexico and South Korea were the main buyers. The soybean market closed 5 cents better on Thursday as the funds continued their buying for another day. Good planting weather will allow for a lot of corn to be planted over the next couple of weeks which could reduce bean acres. China continues to buy US soybeans as export inspections came out a little better than expected on Thursday. China accounted for 79% of these sales. Argentina's bean harvest is now 44% complete with record yields expected. In the overnight trade corn closed 2 cents lower, beans were up 2 cents and wheat closed unchanged. Today look for prices to open mixed with corn expected to open a little lower and beans a little higher. 4-14-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 1/2 cents higher on Monday on a weaker dollar and fund buying which was generated by continued attempts to resolve Greece's financial problems. Favorable weather for the Midwest, however, limited the upward momentum. Weather this week will be good for active planting across the cornbelt. USDA reported yesterday the nationwide corn planting at 3 % complete, up from 2% last year but below the five year average of 4%. Texas had the most corn planted at 48% followed by 15% in Tennessee and 10% in Kentucky. Most of the Midwest states came in at 1% done, while Kansas was right on the 5 year average of 7%. Missouri came in at 9% complete below their 5 year ave of 16%. The soybean market closed 8 cents higher yesterday sparked by an old crop bean sale to China and a much weaker dollar. The Chinese sale came as a surprise yesterday because many traders have been expecting to see demand for US beans drop and turn toward South America. Recent sales to China have put into question whether USDA has understated soybean demand for the current marketing year. Harvest continues to move along in South America with Brazilian bean harvest now projected to be 81% complete which is 12% ahead of last year. In the overnight trade corn and beans closed down 2 cents and wheat closed a penny higher. Look for the markets to open a little lower this morning on weaker outside markets and a good weather forecast to allow fiieldwork to continue this week and into next. 4-12-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 1/2 cents lower on Friday after opening higher following the release of the USDA supply-demand report. USDA raised ending stocks by 100 million bushels to 1.899 billion bushels. Many in the trade were expecting a larger number. A decrease in feed residual was the main change on the report. Despite a friendly report and a weaker dollar, the market sold off on fund liquidation prior to the weekend. The improving weather forecast for the Midwest also put pressure on prices. The soybean market closed nearly 6 cents higher on Friday after the USDA surprisingly left bean carryout stocks unchanged at 190 million bushels. Most in the trade were expecting the carryout number to grow to nearly 210 million bushels. The South American soybean crop was raised by 1.5 MMT. Harvest there is progressing rapidly with good weather. Brazil's soybean yields are now expected to reach 44.3 bpa with Argentina expected to come in at 43.7. Last year US soybeans yields came in at 44 bushels per acre. South American production is now projected to increase by 27 MMT over last year. Many traders, however, feel that growing world demand will offset the increase in supply. In the overnight trade corn closed 3 1/2 cents higher, beans were up 6 cents and wheat closed 5 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning on a weaker dollar and renewed buying interst. 4-8-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 8 cents on Thursday on heavy profit taking and fund selling after the dime runnup in prices on Wednesday. Rumors of Chinese purchases of corn were not confirmed and thus traders exited some of their long positions. Export inpection numbers released on Thursday came in higher than expected at 53.5 million bushels. South Korea was the main buyer followed by Japan and Mexico. The weather in the Midwest in the coming week looks good for fieldwork to continue. Most of the rainfall in the next two weeks is expected to be light and cause only minor delays in planting. USDA on their supply demand report this morning put the corn carryout for 09/10 at 1.899 billion bushels. this was an increase of 100 million bushels from the previous month but lower than 1.910 billion bushels expected. The soybean market closed 6 cents lower yesterday on weaker outside markets and on lack of confirmation of any Chinese rumors of interest in corn and DDG's. Soybean exports came in at 16.3 million bushels with China accounting for most of those sales. USDA released their supply demand report this morning leaving soybean ending stocks at 190 million bushels. The trade was expecting a number around 210. Argentina's soybean crop increased by 1 MMT and Brazil's crop increased by .5 MMT. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 1/2 cents, beans were up nearly 3 cents and wheat closed 3 cents higher. Look for the markets to open slightly higher due to a weaker dollar and higher outside markets. 4-7-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher on Tuesday despite a stronger dollar. The corn market was led up by sharply higher wheat prices. The USDA supply demand report will be released at 7:30 on Friday morning. The trade is expecting a number around 2 billion bushels for corn carryout mainly due to the larger stocks report released on March 31st. The Monday afternoon crop progress report showed that many southern states were lagging behind their normal corn planting pace. Missouri was only 1% planted compared to 8% on average. Louisiana is about the only state ahead of schedule. The soybean market closed 8 1/2 cents higher yesterday despite good yield reports coming out of South America. The Argentina government is estimating their soybean crop at a record 55 MMT. The weather forecast is calling for warm and dry conditions over the next 10 to 14 days in Argentina which will allow for rapid harvest progress. Argentina's soybean harvest is estimated to be nearing 40% complete. The Brazilian soybean crop is expected to approach 67 MMT which is up from the March estimate of 65.7 MMT. Brazil's soybean crop is now estimated at 75% harvested VS last year's 61%. In the overnight trade corn closed 2 cents lower, beans wer down 2 cents and wheat closed 4 cents lower. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight trade. 4-6-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher yesterday after the long holiday weekend. Corn futures were hit hard last week after the USDA reported corn stocks that were nearly 200 million bushels above the average trade guess and 740 million bushels higher than last year. This could push carryout numbers this year above 2 billion bushels. The markets will now turn their attention more to the weather. The latest 6 to 10 day forecast calls for normal rainfall and above normal temperatures for the Midwest. This should allow for some planting to occur between rains. The soybean market closed 6 cents lower on Monday after USDA reports last week found an additional 62 million bushels of soybean stocks. This will put carryout numbers at a much more comfortable level of between 200 to 250 million bushels. USDA also put 2010 soybean acres at a record high of 78.1 million which could likely grow to an even higher number in the weeks ahead, depending on the weather. South American weather continues to look favorable for harvest progress. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were 2 cents higher and wheat closed a penny lower. Look for the markets to open steady to slightly higher this morning after a choppy overnight session. 4-1-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 10 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 15 TO 20 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 5 TO 10 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 1/2 cents lower on Tuesday in a day of pre-positioning ahead of the USDA planting and stocks report. USDA released their acreage and stocks report at 7:30 this morning. Corn acreage numbers came in at 88.8 million. The average trader guess was at 89.2 million acres. The March 1st stocks number came in at 7.694 billion bushels. The trade was looking for a number close to 7.5. Corn acreage is expected to increase by 3% from last year mainly due to the decrease in wheat acres planted last fall. The soybean market closed 6 1/2 cents higher on Tuesday mostly due to short covering before the USDA reports. This morning the USDA put the soybean acreage at 78.1 million which was pretty much in line with the traders guess at 78.5. Soybean acres are up a little less than 1% from last year, but would still be the largest on record. March 1 soybean stocks came in at 1.270 billion bushels. The trade was expecting a number close to 1.207 billion bushels. Both the corn and the soybean stocks number came out higher than expected and could be viewed as somewhat bearish to the market today. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were unchanged and wheat closed down a penny. Look for the markets to open lower this morning due to the USDA reports. 3-30-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher yesterday as traders evened up positions prior to the USDA report on Wednesday. A weaker dollar and stronger outside markets created renewed interest in commodities by the funds. Good weather forecats across the Midwest, however, have limited the upside potential especially in corn. Corn export inpections came out a little better than expected on Monday at 37.8 million bushels. On Wednesday's USDA report, traders are looking for around 89 million acres to be planted to corn this spring. A number above that would be considered bearish and below that friendly. The soybean market closed 15 1/2 cents higher on Monday as traders reacted to the expanding labor strike in Argentina. As many as seven ports in Argentina are now believed to be affected by the strike. This is creating long lines to get trucks dumped. The weather in South America remains good for crop development and fieldwork to continue. Rain delays are not expected to slow harvest for very long. Soybean export inpections came out at 29.3 million bushels which was in line with expectations. China was the main buyer. In the ovenight trade corn closed up 1 1/2 cents, beans were 2 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed 4 1/2 cents higher. Look for the markets to start off higher this morning on support of the dollar and the outside markets. Trade should be choppy today ahead of the USDA reports tommorrow. 3-29-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher on Friday after a week where corn prices dropped 12 cents. A lot of liquidation was seen over the past week due to a stronger dollar and improving weather forecasts which will allow for some fieldwork to begin across the Midwest. USDA will be releasing their planting and stocks report on Wednesday. Look for the trade to do some evening up prior to the release of these reports. The weather pattern for the upcoming week looks warmer and drier and could take some of the weather premium out of prices. The soybean market closed 9 cents higher on Friday as talks of a broadened labor strike in Argentina aided soybean prices. The report on Wednesday has the trade concerned that US soybean stocks may tighten again creating a dwindling carryout supply. The US may remain the most reliable supplier of soybeans as long as the strike in Argentina continues to threaten supplies there. We could see some temporary runnup in soybean prices from time to time as the US pipeline thins. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were 7 cents higher and wheat closed up 3 1/2 cents. Look for prices to start off the session higher and then take direction from the influence of the dollar and the other outside markets. 3-26-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 10 cents lower on Thursday on continued liquidation as improving forecasts for next week could allow for some field work to take place in the Midwest. If planting can take place on time this year then more acres could go into corn, shifting some acres away from beans. On Wednesday, March 31st USDA will estimate the planted acreage for this year's crops. The average trade estimate for next week's report comes in at 89.2 million acres planted to corn this spring. The ongoing strength of the dollar and improving weather forecasts continue to pressure grain prices. The soybean market closed 17 1/2 cents lower yesterday partially on talks that 1 to 2 million acres in the Delta may be switched from cotton to soybeans due to the high cotton production costs there. An improving Midwest weather pattern looks to improve chances of a normal planting season. Weather in Argentina and Brazil should allow for more harvest progress to continue with only minor harvest delays expected. The Argentine dockers strike still remains unresolved but is having little impact so far. The average trader guess for next week's report has soybean acres at 78.5 million vs 77.5 for last year. The soybean stocks guess came in at 1.204 vs 1.302 last year. In the overnight trade corn closed up nearly 2 cents, beans were up 5 1/2 cents and wheat closed a penny higher. Today look for the markets to start off higher on a weaker dollar but will follow the influence of the outside markets as the day wears on. 3-25-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents higher on Wednesday as some private estimates of corn acres to be planted this year came in lower than previous estimates. Farm Futures estimated corn acreage at 87.3 million which is up less than 1 million from last year. Many in the trade thought that farmers would plant nearly 90 million acres to corn this spring. The trade will be anxious to see what USDA comes up with on their March 31st acreage report. The US Dollar continues to soar to new highs on Greece's financial problems. This is generally bearish to commodities. The soybean market closed 8 cents lower as early acreage estimates showed soybean plantings up nearly 2 million acres from last year. Farm Futures magazine put US soybean plantings this spring at 79.4 million acres. If that comes to fruition it would add sizeably to US stocks for the next crop year. This will have to be verified by USDA on the March 31st acreage and stocks report. March US soybean stocks, however, are expected to come in well below last years' levels after a year of record exports. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans were 4 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed up a penny. Look for the markets to open slightly higher this morning with a choppy trade expected for much of the day. 3-24-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 8 cents lower on Tuesday on heavy fund selling. Funds sold nearly 12,000 contracts of corn yesterday. A warmer temperature outlook with less moisture into mid April may have been responsible for some of the selloff. A stonger dollar also contributed to the negative tone on Tuesday. The trade is anxiously awaiting the March 31st acreage and stocks reports. The average acreage guess on corn is at 89.95 million acres which is 3.4 million higher than last year. Southern states are now planting corn with Louisiana 40% complete vs 42% average and Mississippi now at 33% complete vs the 22% normally planted by now. The soybean market closed 1/2 cent lower on Tuesday after trading in positive territory early in the session. Sales of 120,000 mt of beans for new crop shipment were announced prior to the market opening. Continued talk of a strike at one of Argentina's northern ports gave the soybean market an early boost. Trade guesses for the March 31st acreage reports will be released later this week with USDA putting out their numbers next Wednesday. Most analysts are expecting a 1 to 2 million acre increase over last year's 77.5 million acres of soybeans planted. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 1/2 cents, beans were 8 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and then take direction from the way the dollar and outside markets are trading. This morning the dollar was up sharply and gold and crude oil prices were much lower. 3-23-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Monday as the dollar soared to new highs, up over 300 points at one time during the day. Other outside markets were also lower which pressured corn prices. Weekly export inspections were better than expected for corn coming in at 41.6 million bushels. All eyes will be focused on the weather over the upcoming weeks. This week appears to be relatively dry across the Midwest. Rains are expected to return to the corn belt during late March and early April. If this does occur, some more weather premium may be added to the markets. The soybean market closed 7 cents higher on Monday as some new fund buying came into the markets shortly after the opening bell. Funds bought nearly 4000 soybean contracts. Weekly export inspections came out at 32 million bushels with China taking nearly half of that total. Argentina is expected to see some drying this week, which will help them continue with harvest. They are currently about 20% harvested. More showers are expected for Argentina next week. Brazil is now 60% complete with harvest but will see more rain next week which could hamper harvest progress there. In the overnight trade corn and wheat closed nearly unchanged while beans closed 2 1/2 cents higher. Today look for the markets to trade mixed to slightly higher on the opening and then trade on both sides of the close. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 1 1/2 cents lower on Friday as the stronger US dollar kept corn prices in check. Informa released their acreage estimates on Friday coming out with 88.427 million acres being planted to corn this spring. The trade was expecting a number near 90 million. Last year we planted only 86.482 million acres to corn. This number, however, did not have much effect on the direction of corn prices on Friday. The trade still remains concerned that planting delays could continue to grow if the weather doesn't cooperate in the next couple of weeks. The soybean market closed 2 cents higher on Friday as the market recovered near the close of the trading session. Informa estimated bean acreage at 78.629 million acres which was a little higher than their last estimate of 77.919. Last year US farmers planted 77.451 million acres to soybeans. Argentina had some wet weather over the weekend which will postpone harvest there for a couple of days. Harvest progress should continue in Brazil until this weekend when heavy rains are again likely to stall harvest progress. In the overnight trade corn and beans both closed down 2 1/2 cents and wheat closed up a penny. The dollar was slightly stronger this morning and crude oil was tading lower. Look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close today but mostly taking on a weaker sentiment. OPENING CALLS: CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 cents lower on Thursday in a day of choppy trading. Corn export sales fell short of expectations coming in at only 15.8 million bushels. A lower stock market, crude oil and lower financials also pressured grain prices yesterday. On March 10th USDA will report on their resurvey of farmers 2009 production and make any necessary corrections to the January crop production numbers. This report will try to take into account any crop losses due to the late harvest in many states this year. The soybean market closed 14 cents lower on Thursday on slow export sales and weaker outside markets. Argentina crop estimates continue to grow larger with some now thinking that their production may reach 55 to 56 MMT. Current USDA estimates are at 53. This would be almost 75% bigger than last year's soybean crop. On March 31st, USDA will release their acreage estimates for our spring plantings. The Ag Forum in February showed a small reduction in soybean acres over last year. Many feel that some CRP acres and some of the wheat acres that did not get planted last fall will go into soybeans. That report will be one to watch. In the overnight trade corn closed up 3 1/2 cents, beans were nearly unchanged and wheat closed up a penny. Look for the markets to open steady to higher this morning on a weaker dollar and stronger outside markets. 2-25-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 5 TO 7 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 5 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 1/2 cents higher on Wednesday as the trade contemplates the possiblity of another cool-wet spring scenario. The funds started putting money back into commodities yesterday adding some weather premium back into the markets. Heavy snowpack in the midwest is causing some fears of flooding problems this spring. Iowa currently has a snowpack of 15 inches while last year at this time there was none. The recent runnup in corn prices is cutting back on ethanol margins, however, ethanol blending is 20% higher than last year with decent blending margins right now. The soybean market closed 3 cents higher yesterday as funds bought 5000 contracts of soybeans throughout the day. The trade has been concerned that the wet weather in South America could reduce soybean yields as harvest, especially in Brazil, continues to be delayed. Brazil's forecast remains wet for the highly productive areas of Mato Grosso and Goias ove the next 7 days. Argentina's weather, however, looks much drier over the next two weeks which will better prepare the ground for harvest. USDA is currently estimating the Argentine soybean crop to come in around 53 MMT. In the overnight trade corn closed down 1 1/2 cents, beans were 6 cents lower and wheat closed down 6 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning on weaker outside markets and lower crude oil prices. 2-24-10 OPENING CALLS: CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 4 cents on Tuesday after profit taking from Monday's rally was evident. A stronger US dollar and weaker outside markets also put downward pressure on prices. The trade continues to grapple with ideas that we may be setting up to have another cool wet spring which could cause some planting delays again this year. A lot of fieldwork remains to done this spring as harvest ran so late last year that a lot of fall work did not get done. The trade is anxiously awaiting the USDA acreage and supply-demand reports to be released in March. Soybean futures closed down 9 cents on Tuesday as higher prices for much of the session were not able to hold into the close. Traders took profits after two days of higher prices. South American weather continues to add uncertainty to the grain markets. Longer range forecasts still show parts of Brazil to receive too much rain over the next couple of weeks. Regular precipitation in central and northern areas will slow fieldwork. Argentina will see some much needed drier weather over the coming days but will see some more significant rain early next week. In the overnight trade corn closed up 3 cents, beans were 4 cents higher and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Look for the markets to open higher this morning, however, lower outside markets will likely limit the upside potential. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 cents higher on Friday as the USDA Outlook Conference last week showed an increase of only 2.5 million acres more going into corn over last year. The trade was anticipating a larger figure since as much as 6 million acres didn't get planted to wheat this past fall and 2.5 million acres are eligible to come out of the CRP. Ethanol margins improved last week to nearly double what they had been. Weather premiums could now start to show up in the markets as it looks like a wet spring may be on tap. The soybean market closed 3 cents lower on Friday as Argentina bean crop estimates continue to grow on near ideal conditions in February. Their soybean crop is now estimated to be near 56 MMT. The USDA Ag Outlook Conference put soybean acreage at 77 million vs 77.5 last year. The trade is thinking that more acres could actually get planted to soybeans this year than those numbers project. Export inspections are due out this morning with trade guesses falling between 30 to 34 million bushels. In the overnigt trade corn closed up 5 cents, beans were 8 cents higher and wheat closed up 3 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning on a weaker dollar and stronger outside markets. OPENING CALLS: CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 1 1/2 cents higher in a day of choppy trading. The corn market has traded higher every do this week until now. Today might be a different story going into the long holiday weekend. China continues to try to slow down their economy and keep inflation under control by regulating bank reserve requirements. This is seen as an attempt to slow growth and will reduce their demand for products. The US Dollar is stronger this morning because of this move by China. The soybean market closed 5 1/2 cents higher on Thursday on higher crude oil prices and stronger outside markets. Talk of higher South American soybean basis due to large vessel lineups in Brazil was supportive to our markets. Brazil is now estimated to be almost 15% complete with bean harvest. Soybeans have been reported to be yielding in the mid 40's range. The trade will be anxiously awaiting the USDA acreage estimates to be released at the Ag Forum on February 18th. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were down 10 cents and wheat closed down a dime. Look for the markets to open lower and probably stay lower most of the day as some profit taking is expected ahead of the long holiday weekend. 2-11-10 OPENING CALLS: CORN -1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 cents higher on Wednesday after the USDA Supply Demand report increased corn use for ethanol by 100 million bushels. They projected corn ending stocks to come in at 1.719 billion bushels. This was 30 million bushels less than the average of analysts estimates. USDA did raise the estimate of the Argentine corn crop to 17.2 MMT which is up 2.2 MMT from their January estimate. The USDA weekly export sales report normally released today will be delayed until at least Friday due to the snow storm in Washington D.C. The soybean market closed 13 cents higher yesterday as the recent liquidation phase in the marketplace has finally subsided. The USDA report released on Tuesday reduced soybean carryout by 35 million bushels which has helped to give the market some support. The big surprise on Tuesday's report was the decrease in world soybean ending stocks. World ending stocks are now estimated to be down slightly from last month's 59.8 MMT. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 cents, beans were 8 cents higher and wheat closed 3 cents lower. Today look for the markets to start off higher in line with the overnight trade. South American weather remains mostly favorable to crops and it will be intersesting to see how the market reacts to this if the current trend continues. OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 4 cents in another day of continued liquidation in the corn market. Several things have eroded the prices over the past two weeks including adding 300 million more bushels to the corn crop, the governments attempts to regulate banks investments in hedge funds, Chinese attempts to slow down their economy, and continued good weather in South America which adds to the size of their corn and soybean crops. The State of The Union Address last night did seem to soften the President's stance against the banks somewhat which could be good for commodities. The soybean market closed 18 1/2 cents lower yesterday as it has been hard to find any bullish news in the marketplace lately. Continued strength in the dollar will weaken demand and the lower outside markets are not adding any support either. The trade realizes that with South America's harvest growing closer, demand will shift to the Southern Hemisphere soon. The good news is that the markets are due for a technical correction to the upside, so maybe the market is getting close to finding a bottom. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans were up 2 cents and wheat closed a penny higher. Today look for the markets to open steady to mixed and then possibly trade higher into the close. 1-27-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 cents higher on Monday as light fund buying helped to support corn prices. There was some talk in the trade yesterday that China was going to revalue their currency sometime this week which would make US products cheaper and more competetive. Corn export inspections yesterday came out a little disappointing at 21 million bushels which was 10 million bushels lower than the previous week. More planting estimates continue to be released on corn most of which are 90 million acres plus. The soybean market closed down another 11 cents on Monday as crop prospects in South America continue to improve. Soybeans have now lost nearly 90 cents in the past 10 days. Fear that the government will implement a 3 year spending freeze has outide markets lower and the dollar stronger this morning. Continued talks about government controls over banking investments have some in the trade feeling that trading volume will be subdued because of this. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 1/2 cents, beans were 6 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 4 cents. Today look for the markets to open lower and struggle to find support on weaker outside markets and a stronger dollar. 1-25-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 7 cents on Friday as liquidation in the grain markets continued for another day. Informa came out with their planting estimates for this spring coming in at 89.6 million acres. This was 3.2 million acres higher than last year. Much of this increase is believed to be coming from acres that did not get planted to winter wheat this past fall and also some acreage coming out of the Conservation Reserve Program. The stock market and other outside markets were all sharply lower last week due to the governments plans to restrict banks investments in some risky hedge funds. Chinese attempts to slow down their economy also weighed on prices. The soybean market closed 2 1/2 cents lower on Friday and closed down 22 cents for the week. Pressure from the weak outside markets and good South American weather helped to drive prices lower over the past week. Informa showed a slightly higher acreage number for the coming year coming in at 77.9 million acres. Last year the US planted 77.5 million acres to soybeans. A hot and dry weather forecast for Argentina over the coming week may give the market some support today. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were down a penny and wheat closed up one cent. 1-22-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Thursday after a week of closing lower. Corn markets closed higher yesterday despite sharply lower crude oil prices and a stronger dollar. Argentina's corn crop is now being estimated at 18 MMT which is much higher than USDA's current 15 MMT projection. Informa will also be releasing their new crop planting estimates this morning. Informa's last estimate showed an increase in corn acres for next year by 3.3 million acres to 89. 5 million acres planted. Some feel that their estimate today may be over 90 million acres since USDA lowered their winter wheat acreage numbers on the January reports. The soybean market closed 4 cents higher on Thursday despite some negative outside market influences. USDA did however announce another soybean sales to China yesterday as the US remains competitive on soybeans and soybean products to foreign countries. If sales stay strong into March, US soybean stocks could actually be lower than year ago levels. Informa will release their planting estimates later this morning. December's estimate was nearly unchanged from the previous year, however, with less winter wheat acreage planted this year, soybean plantings could climb. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 cents, beans were 2 cents lower and wheat also closed down 4 cents. Today look for the markets to open lower and then trade on both sides of the close. 1-21-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny lower on Wednesday after being 5 to 6 cents lower for most of the day. A stronger dollar and weaker outside markets contributed to the selloff. Talks of continued lending restrictions in China have spurred another round of commodity selling. The Chinese government wants their banks to increase their reserves to stave off a future bubble burst similar to what happened in the US economy last year. This however has he markets worried that this action will slow Chinese growth and have global repurcussions. The soybean market closed 13 1/2 cents lower on Wednesday as South American weather continues mostly farorable for growing conditions for the next two weeks. Record crops in Argentina and Brazil look possible for this year and will likely continue to weigh on soybean prices. Currently soybean harvest is nearly 5% done in Matto Grasso in Brazil but most of the harvesting will not start there until late February. Argentina's harvest will not get going good until late March. Good growing weather is still needed through March to secure a good soybean crop. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans closed 4 cents higher and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Today look for grain prices to open lower and struggle to close higher. 1-20-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 10 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 9 1/2 cents lower on Friday after the bearish USDA report on Tuesday caused corn futures to close 51 cents lower for the week. Bearish planting prospects for next year also continue to hang over the marketplace as up to 15 million more acres will be available to be planted to either corn or soybean crops. There were over 6 million acres that did not get planted to wheat last fall along with 2.7 million acres to be released from the Conservation Reserve Program and another 6 million that will come out from feed grains and cotton acreage. The soybean market closed a dime lower on Friday and was down 48 cents for the week. The USDA report did show a slight reduction in carryover but this was overshadowed by projections of a big South American crop and much higher planting prospects for US soybean crops. Crush margins remain favorable and exports for meal and oil sales continue strong. South America continues to get decent rains although heavy rains in Brazil will slow down early harvest efforts there. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 1/2 cents, beans were 3 cents lower and wheat closed a dime lower. Look for the markets to open lower this morning due to a strengthening dollar and weaker outside markets. If any rally attempt is made, it is likely to come later in the trading session today. 1-15-10 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY TO 3 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 3 cents yesterday as fund liquidation continued to put pressure on corn prices. The bearish USDA report released on Tuesday showing an increase in production of 300 million bushels continues to plague the marketplace. Poor corn export sales coming out below expectations also pressured the market yesterday. No new crop sales were reported and a few cancellations were even noted. The soybean market closed down 9 cents on Thursday even though strong crush numbers were reported in December along with good export numbers for the week. The fear of much larger crops coming out of South America continues to put downward pressure on soybean prices. Argentina soybean crops will be much larger this year as ample rainfall has fallen throughout that country most of the year. Nearly 1 billion more bushels of soybean production is expected out of South America this year. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were nearly unchanged and wheat closed down 4 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning with a stronger dollar and weaker crude oil markets putting downward pressure on grain prices. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Thursday as a stronger US Dollar kept corn prices on the defensive. Icing conditions on the Illinois and Mississippi rivers is growing worse each day as cold temperatures continue to dominate across the Midwest. Corn export numbers were considered bearish yesterday as only 14.4 million bushels were reported for export. Overnight markets found some support on talk of rebalancing fund activity. Some in the trade feel that the funds may buy as much as 50,000 corn contracts over the coming week. The soybean market closed 33 cents lower on Thursday as talk that China was going to raise interest rates to slow growth. This caused the dollar to strengthen which drove grain prices lower yesterday. South America weather continues to be fairly good for crop development although there has been some localized flooding in parts of Argentina. It is expected that China will be looking to buy more South American beans in the coming month as their harvest gets underway. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 cents, beans were down 8 cents and wheat closed 2 cents lower. Look for the markets to be supported today by the increased fund activity especially in corn. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 13 1/2 cents lower on Friday as a more favorable weather forecast should allow harvest to pick up this week. Dry conditions and warmer temperatures are in the forecast for the next 10 days. Measurable rains are not expected across the corn belt until the middle of next week. The crop progress report will be released this afternoon and is expected to come in at about 30% complete on corn. The trade will be watching the numbers put out by FC Stone and Informa this week on crop production estimates. The soybean market closed 7 1/2 cents lower on Friday as extended forecasts showed above normal temps and below normal precipitation for the next 10 days. Stronger outside markets and a lower dollar this morning has market calls a little higher. News that China's manufacturing index was up this past month by 55% confirms that the economy is strengthening. Traders will be watching for indications that funds may decide to put new money into grains in the coming days. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were up 7 cents and wheat closed a penny lower. Today look for the markets to open higher and then trade on both sides of the close. 10-29-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 7 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 11 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 9 TO 11 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 7 cents on Tuesday as traders expect better harvest weather for next week. This should be a big improvement from last week where only 3% of the nations corn crop got harvested. Next week a couple of private crop estimates will be issued. FC Stone will release their estimates on November 4th followed by Informa shortly after. USDA will release their estimates on November 10th. Most in the trade are looking for an increase over the October numbers. The soybean market closed 13 cents lower on Tuesday as another day of fund selling and profit taking was evident. The trade is anticipating that harvest progress will pick up next week as weather improves. Some good harvest progress was made last week in Indiana, Ohio and Michigan as double digit gains were made in all those states. The Delta states continue to be delayed with increasing concerns about quality issues there. More talk circulated in the trade yesterday that China will likely be deferring additional cargoes of beans into forward months. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents, beans were 11 cents lower and wheat closed down 10 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning as weather forecasts show improvements to speed up harvest progress next week. 10-27-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 20 cents lower on Monday after opening in positive territory. Better weather forecasts for next week calling for drier conditions to allow harvest to resume caused prices to collapse. Fund selling quickly took over the marketplace as traders opted to take profits. The government released the latest crop progress report yesterday afternoon. The nations corn crop now stands at 20% harvested compared to 37% last year and the 5 year average of 58% complete. Corn exports were also dissappointing yesterday coming in below expectations at 23.996 million bushels. The soybean market closed down 19 1/2 cents on Monday as the dollar was stronger and outside markets were weaker. The trade is now looking for some losses to the soybean crop in the Delta area. Recent heavy rains have delayed harvest and have caused some crop damage. Some feel that as much as 16% yield loss may result from the inclement weather this fall. The crop progress report on Monday showed that only 44% of the nations soybean crop has been harvested compared to the 5 year average of 80%. There was talk in the trade yesterday that China may have either cancelled or deferred some current soybean deliveries. That was not friendly to the bean market. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were unchanged and wheat closed 3 1/2 cents lower. Today look for the markets to open steady to slightly lower and then trade on both sides of the close. 10-26-09 n late last week and early into the weekend kept harvest progress to a minimum. More rain is predicted for Wednesday and Thursday. Some forecasters see a drier and milder pattern setting up for this weekend and continuing into early next week. This could be a little bearish for prices today if this forecast actually holds up. Some in the trade feel that the market may be overbought and due for a correction. The soybean market closed 1/2 cent higher on Friday as further weather problems continue to slow harvest activity. The Delta area has been delayed for nearly two months in harvesting soybeans and the quality of the remaining crop continues to grow worse. Soybean harvest across the nation remains well behind the normal pace of 80% complete. Brazil's planting pace is 4% above last year with nearly 20% of the soybean crop now planted. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 cents, beans were 3 cents higher and wheat closed up 5 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning and then trade on both sides of the close. Traders will be watching the latest weather forecasts for signs of improved conditions to allow harvest to resume. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 10 cents lower on Thursday as weather forecasts backed off on rain amounts for next week. We will have to see if these forecasts actually hold up. Longer range forecasts for November are calling for near normal temperatures and normal precipitation for the Eastern Corn Belt. The market also saw some profit taking yesterday as corn prices have run up nearly 50 cents in a month's time. Corn export sales will be released today and are expected to come in between 27 to 35 million bushels. The soybean market closed 11 cents lower on Thursday on talk of improved weather for early next week which is believed to encourage some harvest activity. Also adding to the negative bias was talk that China cancelled 2 to 3 cargoes of beans and it is believed that some soybean meal slaes were switched from the US to South America. The trade was also talking about some position re-balancing next week by one of the big index funds which could weigh negatively on the soybean and wheat markets. In the overnight trade corn closed nearly unchanged, beans were up 2 cents and wheat closed up 2 1/2 cents. This morning look for the markets to open steady to to a little higher and then take direction from the latest weather forecasts. 1015-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 19 TO 21 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher on Wednesday after trading much higher earlier in the session. Fund buying and a weaker US Dollar helped to encourage higher prices. Wet weather continues to delay harvest across much of the nation and dry down of the corn crop has progressed at a very slow pace. Only 6% of the corn crop has been harvested in Illinois compared to the 5 year average of 56%. Current weather forecasts offer little relief from the wet weather conditions with more rain expected over the next 10 days. Heaviest amounts favor the southern part of the Midwest. The soybean market closed a penny higher yesterday after trading double digits higher during the session. Wet weather across the country continues to delay harvest activity. Only 23% of the nations soybean crop has been harvested compared to a normal pace of 57% complete. Heavy rains once again fell across the Delta region in the past 36 hours continuing to delay harvest there. Quality issues may become a real problem in this area. Profit taking was seen late in the session yesterday which drove prices down from there highs. In the overnight session corn closed down 9 1/2 cents, beans were 21 cents lower and wheat closed down 7 1/2 cents. Weather forecasts have improved this morning with less rain expected for next week. Look for the markets to open lower this morning with traders attention being focussed on the latest weather reports. 10-14-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 19 cents higher on Monday as weather premium was added back into the market due to the frost and freezing temperatures across the Midwest over the weekend and wet conditions which continue to delay harvest. The trade is still trying to figure out just how much damage was done to the crop as a result of the frost. Some in the trade feel that as much as 230 million bushels of corn may have been impacted. This week's forecast contains some rain along with cool temperatures but next week appears to be warmer and drier. The soybean market closed 35 cents higher yesterday on delays in harvest, strong export demand and stronger outside markets. USDA will release their crop progress report today. Last week beans were only 15% harvested and not much progress has been accomplished this past week. One year ago, soybean harvest was nearly 48% complete and the 5 year average comes in at 56%. Outside markets were higher this morning and the dollar weaker. The stock market is higher this morning and could break the 10,000 mark today. In the overnight trade corn closed a penny lower, beans were 7 cents higher and wheat closed up 2 cents. Look for a choppy market this morning with trade expected on both sides of the close. 10-12-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 8 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 11 TO 13 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 8 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents lower on Friday after USDA released their crop production estimates coming in at 13.018 billion bushels with a national yield of 164.2 BPA. USDA lowered both the corn planted and harvested acreage by over 500,000 acres. Wet weather across the corn belt continues to delay harvest progress and frost and freezing temperatures over the weekend has hurt the corn crop. The trade will be trying to get a handle on the extent of the damage today and in the days to come. The overnight session was higher on the frost damage concerns and stonger outside markets. The soybean market closed 28 cents higher on Friday as wet weather has delayed harvest across much of the nation. Rain and flooding conditions in the south and Delta regions has slowed soybean harvest. Muddy conditions there will make it difficult to combine beans for quite some time. The pipeline for beans is growing thin as many vessels line up at the Gulf waiting to be loaded with new crop soybeans. China's demand for beans remains fairly strong as they continue to stockpile agricultural products. In the overnight trade corn closed up 9 1/2 cents, beans were 17 cents higher and wheat closed up 10 cents. Today look for the markets to open higher and trade higher throughout the session. 10-9-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up 4 cents on Thursday as a weaker dollar and stronger outside markets strengthened commodity prices. USDA released their crop production numbers this morning at 13.018 billion bushels which is up from their September estimate of 12.995. Corn yields are expected to average 164.2 BPA which is up from last month's estimate of 161.9 and much higher than last year's 153.9 BPA yield. Corn ending stocks for 2009/10 came in at 1.672 billion bushels which is 37 million bushels higher than the September estimate. The soybean market closed 24 cents higher on Thursday as wet weather across a good portion of the country continues to delay harvest. More rainfall is expected next week over areas that are already saturated, which will further delay harvest progress. USDA released their crop production numbers this morning putting the soybean crop at 3.250 billion bushels. This is just slightly higher than USDA's September estimate of 3.245. Yields are expected to average 42.4 BPA compared to last year's average of 39.7. Soybean ending stocks are now expected to come in at 230 million bushels which is up only 10 million bushels from September's figures. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were down 4 1/2 cents and wheat closed 4 cents lower. Look for the markets to open steady to lower this morning but then traders will turn their attention to the latest weather forecasts to check for further harvest delays. 10-8-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up 1 1/2 cents on Wednesday as wet weather in the forecast will continue to delay harvest. Forecasts for frost this weekend and into early next week will keep the traders guessing as to how much damage may be inflicted on the crop because of this. Some in the trade feel that up to 100 million bushels of corn could be adversely affected by the frost/freeze. Cold temperatures are expected to go as far south as Kansas and northern Missouri and also impact central Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. A weaker dollar and stronger outside markets are also helping to support prices. The soybean market closed 2 cents higher on Wednesday as traders position themslves ahead of Friday's USDA reports. The average trader guess for soybean production is at 3.291 billion bushels. A number above this would be bearish but soon after the report, traders will focus their attention on the weather. Any further delays in harvesting the soybean crop could rally prices higher. A frost or freeze is not expected to have a big impact on the soybean crop as many beans are close to maturity. In the overnight trade corn closed up 4 1/2 cents, beans were 4 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed up 6 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning and trade in positive territory for most of the day. 10-7-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - STEADY WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 17 cents higher on Tuesday as a little more weather premium was added back into prices. Cold temperatures for the weekend as far south as Northern Missouri and central Illinois could drop temperatures to freezing levels. This along with a weaker dollar and stronger outside markets was enough to get the trade excited yesterday. USDA will release their latest crop production numbers on Friday. Some in the trade feel that USDA will lower corn acreage by as much as a half million acres due to FSA's updated acreage numbers. The soybean market closed 25 cents higher on Tuesday as funds bought nearly 7000 contracts of soybeans on frost talk and higher outside markets. USDA will release their crop production numbers on Friday. The average trade guess for soybean production is 3.291 billion bushels vs September's USDA number of 3.245. That puts the national soybean yield at 42.7 BPA. FSA's latest acreage number will be taken into consideration on this report and some think that as many as 500,000 more acres may be added to the soybean crop. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 1/2 cents, beans were down a penny and wheat closed up 2 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning and then react to the latest weather forecasts. 10-6-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 8 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 12 TO 14 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 8 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 8 cents higher on Monday as frost talk surfaced once again. Talk of frost and even a hard freeze are possible this weekend across parts of the Midwest. Freezes could occur across Northern Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and as far south as Central Illinois on Sunday morning. Maturity of the corn crop is still only at 57%. A hard frost now would still leave 43% of the crop vulnerable to quality problems. On Monday afternoon's crop progress report, only 10% of the nations corn crop has been harvested compared to the 5 year average of 25%. The soybean market closed unchanged on Monday as some profit taking was noted during the trading session. Wet weather is keeping harvest progress at bay in many areas. White mold is also a problem in some locations. Monday's crop report showed that 15% of the nations soybean crop has now been harvested. The 5 year average would put harvest progress at 36% complete. Harvest progress continues to lag well behind the normal pace. Illinois is only at 6% complete. In the overnight trade corn closed up 10 cents, beans closed up 13 cents and wheat closed 9 1/2 cents higher. Today look for the markets to open higher and trade higher most of the day as a wet and cool forecast will continue to move prices higher. 10-5-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 7 cents on Friday after Informa released their crop production numbers. Informa put the corn crop at 13.27 billion bushels with a national yield of 164.7 BPA. USDA's last estimate was at 12.95 billion bushels with a yield of 161.9. On October 9th USDA will release their latest numbers with most in the trade looking for an increase in yield of 2 to 3 bushels per acre. Weather forecasts continue to call for cooler than normal temperatures this week with a chance for frost late into the weekend and into early next week. The soybean market closed 33 cents lower on Friday as funds sold nearly 6000 contracts of soybeans. Informa released their soybean estimates on Friday with a bean crop projected at 3.383 billion bushels with a yield estimated at 44 BPA. This was 138 million bushels higher than USDA's last estimate. South America has also increased their soybean production numbers coming out of Brazil and Argentina. Brazil's crop is estimated at just over 63MMT which is up from 57MMT from last year. Argentina's crop is estimated to be almost double the size of last year's crop because of the drought they experienced the previous year. In the overnight trade corn closed down 1 1/2 cents, beans were down 4 cents and wheat closed a penny higher. Look for the markets to open lower but expect to see trade on both sides of the close today. 10-2-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 3 cents on Thursday as traders feel that the early yield reports could boost production numbers . FC Stone released their estimates putting corn production at 13.064 billion bushels. This is up 110 million bushels from USDA's last estimate of 12.954 billion bushels. Informa is due to release their numbers this morning. The trade is also looking for these numbers to be higher than their last report. Some in the trade now feel that USDA could raise their next production estimate by as much as 5 bushels per acre. The soybean market closed 9 cents lower on Thursday after rallying early in the session. Most areas across the Midwest averted the frost scare this past week with only some patchy frost around mostly confined to areas in Wisconsin and Michigan. Bean harvest is now delayed in the Midwest and will be for the rest of this week and into early next week. Informa will be out with their production numbers today and are expected to come in with higher numbers. Traders are thinking that USDA will raise yields 2 to 5 BPA on beans on their next report. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were 8 cents lower and wheat closed down 5 cents. Look for the markets to trade lower today as positive news is hard to come by and the outside markets are all lower today. 9-28-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 2 1/2 cents on Friday after trading on both sides of the previous close. Traders continue to try to get a handle on the crop size. Early yield reports seem to be very good but traders realize that the crop will be late and yields from the late plantings have yet to be determined. Corn prices did have a relatively good week with December futures trading 16 cents higher for the week. Weather forecasts call for a couple of cool nights on Tuesday and Wednesday followed by a brief warmup in temperatures and then another cool shot of weather near the 10th of October. The soybean market closed 6 1/2 cents higher on Friday as the funds came into the marketplace to buy soybeans before the market closed on Friday. Bean harvest in the Delta area has been stopped for nearly two weeks due to heavy rains there. Early harvest results in other areas indicate some very good yields. Traders are considering ideas that USDA may raise yield estimates on their October reports. USDA will update their grain stock numbers on September 30th. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were 11 cents lower and wheat closed up 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower in line with the overnight settlements. 9-25-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up 6 cents on Thursday despite the fact that crude oil was trading at $3 per barrel lower. A weather forecast released yesterday showed that above normal precipitation was predicted for the first 10 days of October. It showed significant rains across the Midwest with some totals as high as 3 to 4 inches. For a crop that is already late, this made the trade a little nervous. Also some reports of crop disease and low test weights on early harvested corn are making the trade wonder if the yields will actually be that good this fall. Some analysts are projecting yields well above USDA's 162 BPA while others feel that the late development of the crop won't support that kind of yield. The soybean market closed down a penny yesterday in a day of relatively quiet trading. Fund buying was subdued yesterday as the trade awaits the new harvest season. Slow export business and projections of good yields left the funds on the sidelines. Some concern was felt in the trade yesterday as talk surfaced that plentiful rains next week could limit harvest activity and slow much needed stocks into the pipeline. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were down 3 cents and wheat closed 1 cent lower. Look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close today with the markets favored to end the day on a slightly higher note. 9-24-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 1/2 cents higher yesterday after being up nearly a dime on renewed frost concerns. The GFS weather model put colder temperatures back into the forecast for next week. Weather forecasts were calling for temperatures to drop to near 32 degrees early next week. Many other weather models disagreed with this forecast and were not looking for any significant frost until early October. A frost now could really influence final yield prospects and the trade gets a little nervous each time a frost threat occurs. The soybean market closed 1 1/2 cents higher on Wednesday after opening sharply lower. Frost scares along with new export sales helped to rally prices during the session. The trade continues to try to determine the crop size. Early yield reports continue to come in above expectations. However, will these be the better yield results as some of the later beans are showing signs of white mold and sudden death syndrome in places. Also the trade has to consider whether or not the crop will reach maturity without a frost to reduce yield potential. I guess time will tell. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 1/2 cents, beans were 7 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down a penny. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 9-23-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 2 cents on Monday as weather forecasts remained frost free going into early October. Rains are expected to move into the corn belt and continue in the Delta area where it has been wet for most of the past week. On Monday's crop progress report, 80% of the corn crop is now dented and 21% of the crop has reached maturity. This is still well behind the normal pace but weather conditions should allow much more of the crop to reach full maturity in the next 10 days. The soybean market closed 27 1/2 cents lower on Monday as early yield reports on beans continue to be very good especially in the southern states. Some areas are reporting yields 20 BPA above last year. This is causing traders to believe that higher production totals are quite likely. Soybean exports were very disappointing coming in at only 205,000 bushels. This was 10 million bushels lower than last week's numbers. With the outside markets all lower and the dollar stronger yesterday, soybean prices fell victum to the downward pressure. In the ovenight trade corn closed up 3 1/2 cents, beans were up 7 1/2 cents and wheat closed 6 1/2 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 9-21-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 11 cents lower on Friday as the latest weather forecasts took out any hint of a frost before October 1st for the major crop areas. Without a significant frost or freeze it looks like grain prices will continually work lower going into harvest. Early yield reports on corn continue to come in very good. It appears that the cool wet summer was very beneficial to yields especially in the southern states. Harvest activity will begin to pick up in the Midwest in the next couple of weeks. The soybean market closed 12 cents lower on Friday as lower outside markets and a stronger dollar continued to drive prices lower. Rains in the Delta area continue to delay harvest activity. Parts of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia received between 1 1/2 to 3 inches of rain this past week. Some damage may occur to crops in that area if rains persist. Early soybean yield reports are coming in at average to slightly above average levels. There have been some white mold and sudden death syndrome noted in the soybean fields in the northern areas. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 cents, beans were 8 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 2 1/2 cents. Look for the markets to start out lower and probably stay lower all session on a lack of positive news. 9-18-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents lower on Thursday as the latest forecasts took out the chances of a frost for next week. Even the two week forecasts show no signs of a killing frost. Much of the weather premium that was added to the markets on Tuesday has now been taken back out. Corn export sales yesterday came out higher than expected at 38 million bushels. South Korea, Japan and Taiwan were the main buyers this week. Very little corn harvest has taken place across the Midwest but what has been done is coming in better than expected. The soybean market closed 2 1/2 cents higher on Thursday as commercial buying helped to support soybean prices yesterday. Weather forecasts have now taken out the chances of frost through September which is good for the continued maturation of the crop. If the crop is allowed to reach full maturity without a frost then traders will be looking for a larger number on the next crop production report. China has continued to buy beans from the United States and is helping to keep soybean sales on a record setting pace. The US has the majority of the worlds supply of soybeans, so it looks like China will continue to come to the US in the coming months for their soybean needs. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were 5 cents lower and wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to open lower in line with the overnight settlements. 9-17-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 10 cents on Wednesday as traders took profits from Tuesday's big runnup in prices. Weather forecasts backed off on the previous frost scares and caused some of the weather premium to be taken out. Funds sold nearly 8000 contracts of corn during the session yesterday. Higher crude oil prices and a weaker dollar did help to keep the losses under control. Short term weather remains favorable for crop development but traders will continue to monitor longer range forecasts for a return to colder temperatures for later next week. The soybean market closed 9 1/2 cents lower on Wednesday after trading as much as 30 cents down during the session. Commercial buying interest helped to aid in the price recovery yesterday. Current longer range weather forecasts are still calling for cold temperatures for late next week but not as cold as originally thought. The frost is now expected to be more regional in nature mostly affecting areas confined mainly to the northern parts of Wisconsin and Michigan. Early soybean harvest is getting started in the Midwest with yield reports coming in mostly better than expected. In the overnight trade corn closed down 5 cents, beans were 9 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and continue to struggle with current forecasts taking out much of the frost threat. 9-16-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 12 TO 14 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 29 cents higher on Tuesday as frost scares surfaced around the marketplace. Both the European and GFS weather models are calling for a powerful cold front to possibly go as far south as Illinois and Miissouri for the end of next week. Markets were sharply higher yesterday because of this. The trade realizes that if a frost were to occur this far south that as much as 660 million bushels of corn production would be vulnerable to damage or even total loss. If temperatures were to drop as low as 28 degrees, losses could be well over 1 billion bushels. The trade will be watching this closely over the coming days. The soybean market closed 51 cents higher yesterday due to short covering on the frost scare. Funds bought over 10,000 contracts of soybeans yesterday as traders tried to cover their short positions. The market added back some weather premium as traders realize that the immaturity of the crop could be extremely vulnerable to damage by a frost-freeze. The Delta harvest has been stopped now due to heavy rains that look to continue for that area for much of the week. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were 12 cents lower and wheat closed down 6 1/2 cents. Look for more fund buying today as traders watch the latest weather forecasts for more talk about frost-freezes. 9-15-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents lower on Monday in a day of quiet trading. Yesterday morning USDA announced the sale of 419,000 metric tons of corn to Mexico. Export inspections released on Monday of 40.5 million bushels were strong for this time of year. Crop conditions remained unchanged at 69% good to excellent with only 12% of the corn crop rated mature. Weather for the short term calls for above normal temperatures but longer range forecasts look for a cooler pattern to develop with some calling for a possible frost for northern Iowa, northern Illinois and northern Indiana on the 26th and 27th. The trade will be closely watching these forecasts. The soybean market closed 6 cents higher on Monday on light commercial buying. It was announced yesterday morning that both China and South Korea purchased some soybeans from the US. Crop conditions remained unchanged on Monday with 68% of the soybean crop still rated good to excellent. Soybean harvesting in the Delta area will be put on hold this week as rains move across that area. Early soybean yields are ranging from somewhat disappointing in some areas to near record highs in others. In the overnight trade corn closed 5 cents higher, beans were up 3 cents and wheat closed 3 cents higher. Today look for another day of light trade as the markets continue to trade on both sides of the close. 9-14-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS : 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT : 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 1/2 cents higher on Friday after the USDA Crop Production reports. Corn production was estimated to come in at 12.954 billion bushels which was up almost 200 million bushels fron last months estimates. National yields are expected to average 161.9 BPA, which is up 2.4 bushels from the August estimate and 8 BPA above last year. If these numbers are acheived, it will be the highest yield on record with production the second largest ever. The latest weather forecast shows no frost through this week, however, the GFS weather model shows an agressive cold front pushing into the Midwest next week. This will be closely monitored by the trade. The soybean market closed 23 1/2 cents lower on Friday following the crop report. Soybean production was forecast at a record high of 3.25 billion bushels which was up from last months estimate of 3.199. If realized that would be 10% higher than last year's production totals. Soybean yields are expected to average 42.3 BPA up from last months estimate of 41.7. Both Alabama and Maryland showed the biggest increase in yields over last month at 5 to 6 BPA. In the ovenight trade corn closed down 4 cents, beans were 8 cents lower and wheat closed down 8 cents. Markets were lower this morning due to a trade dispute between the US and China over a new tariff on tires. President Obama signed legislation on Friday to impose a new duty of 35% on Chinese tire imports. Look for the markets to start off lower this morning and then trade on both sides of the close. 9-11-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 5 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 1/2 cents higher on Thursday as the traders prepared for the USDA reports to be released this morning. Weather forcasts have turned a little cooler for September 23rd to the 25th and frosts are possible as far down as Northern Iowa according to the GFS weather model. Since this is still two weeks away, the trade is not placing a lot of faith in this yet. USDA released their crop production numbers this morning coming out with a 12.995 billion bushel corn crop. Average trade guesses were at 12.901. Corn yield estimates came in at 161.9 BPA compared with last months estimate of 159.5. Only minor increases in ending stocks were reported this morning. The soybean market closed 2 cents lower on Thursday as yield reports from the Delta and southern states continue to come in at better than expected levels. USDA released crop production numbers this morning at 3.245 billion bushels on soybeans. This was in line with the average trade guesses at 3.249. This put soybean yields at 42.3 BPA compared with previous estimates of 41.7. If realized this would be the third highest yield on record for soybeans. USDA raised ending stocks for 2009/10 by 10 million bushels to 220 million bushels. In the overnight trade, corn closed nearly unchanged, beans closed up 2 1/2 cents and wheat closed 3 cents higher. Look for the markets to open a little higher following this morning's crop reports. 9-10-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 cents higher on Wednesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of Friday's USDA reports. Traders are looking for a corn production number of 12.932 billion bushels. In August, USDA estimated the corn crop at 12.761 billion bushels. Early yield reports out of the Southern states have been a little better than expected. Trade estimates for the corn yields range from 158.7 to 164.1 with the average coming in at 161.5 BPA. USDA's August estimate was at 159.5. The soybean market closed 8 cents lower on Wednesday as weather models continue to call for good conditions through the end of September. Early bean yields from the south continue to come in at better than expected levels. Disease problems are starting to show up in some of the Northern states including Illinois and Iowa. Sudden death syndrome and white mold are becoming much more prevalent in many of the bean fields. Trade estimates for the 2009 soybean yields range from 41.5 to 43.1 BPA with an average of 42.4. USDA's August estimate was at 41.7. Soybean carryout is expected to come in around 226 million bushels for the 2010 / 11. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were down 1 1/2 cents and wheat closed 1/2 cent higher. Look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close as traders even up positions prior to Friday's reports. 9-09-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed up a penny on Tuesday after the long holiday weekend as the strong outside markets provided support for grain prices. Crude oil rallied over $3.00 per barrel yesterday on news from analysts that crude oil demand will rebound next year. A weaker US dollar also helped to uplift commodity markets. The dollar index fell to new lows yesterday as China voiced concerns over current US policies which could lead to inflationary problems in the future. Yield checks were done on corn fields in the Bloomington, Il. area and reported yields to be about 5% lower than last year. It was noted that frost free weather will be needed until the first of October for the crop to reach maturity. The soybean market closed 14 1/2 cents higher yesterday on better Chinese soybean import prospects, a weaker dollar and higher outside markets. Some analysts are projecting a big increase in Chinese imports as its livestock industry rebounds in the coming year. There is also talk of a decrease in the North China soybean crop due to drought. Some disease problems are showing up in the soybean fields across the Midwest. Sudden death syndrome and white mold are showing up in many bean fields. Crop condition ratings, however, still remain high at 68% good to excellent compared to only 57% last year. In the overnight trade corn closed 2 cents lower, beans were down 8 1/2 cents and wheat closed 6 cents lower. Look for the markets to start off lower and then trade on both sides of the close. 9-08-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 12 TO 15 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 9 1/2 cents lower on Friday as good yield reports continued to come out of the southern states. Areas that were only yielding around 130 BPA last year are reporting yields this year of between 175 to 180. On Friday, USDA will release their crop production numbers. Many estimates have placed the size of the corn crop at slightly over 13 billion bushels. USDA's August estimate was at 12.76 billion bushels. Support from outside markets this morning could keep grain prices on the positive side today. The soybean market closed nearly 20 cents lower on Friday as traders prepared for the long holiday weekend. USDA will be out Friday with their soybean production numbers and supply-demand estimates. Informa came out last week with their estimates putting the soybean crop at 3.372 billion bushels with a yield estimated at 44.1 BPA. These estimates are relying on the fact that the crop will be able to reach maturation without an early frost. Latest forecasts remain favorable for late season crop development. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were up 13 cents and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Today look for the grain markets to draw support from the higher outside markets. 9-4-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 2 cents on Thursday after Informa released their crop estimates calling for record corn production. They estimated this year's corn crop would yield 162.7 BPA with the possibility of yields as high as 168. Informa estimated final acreage would be down by 800,000 acres. Prices,however did find support late in the session yesterday from a few forecasts calling for a return to much colder temperatures around the middle of September. Traders are still contemplating what effects an early frost would have on a crop that is so late to mature. The soybean market closed down 9 1/2 cents on Thursday as more negative news infiltrated the marketplace. Informa estimated new crop soybean yields at 43.1 BPA which was well above their August estimate of 41.6. Informa, however does have a track record of coming in with higher final yields than USDA. Last year Informa overestimated bean yields by 1.4 BPA over USDA. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans closed unchanged and wheat was down a penny. Look for the markets this morning to open in line with the overnight settlements and the trade on both sides of the close. The long holiday weekend and neutral outside markets may limit new buying interest today. 9-03-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed unchanged yesterday as traders try to get a handle on this year's crop size. Informa will release their crop estimates this morning. F C Stone released their numbers on corn coming in at 162.7 BPA up from 160 last month and higher than USDA's August figure of 159.5. Early corn yields from crops being harvested in southern states continue to come in better than expected. However, the trade will still be concerned this year that over 30% of the corn crop will not be mature by October 1st. This may keep traders considering possible frost risk into October. The soybean market closed 4 1/2 cents lower on Wednesday as weather forecasts continued to call for normal temperatures through the middle of the month. Informa will release their crop production numbers this morning. F C Stone estimated soybean yields at 42.5 BPA up slightly fom last month's estimate and higher than USDA's August estimate of 41.7. However, slow crop development will leave 18% of the soybean crop not mature by October 1st leaving nearly 1/5th of the crop vulnerable to frost damage. In the overnight trade corn closed up 1/2 cent, beans were 9 cents higher and wheat closed up 2 1/2 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning and then react to Informa's numbers after their release. 9-2-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 10 1/2 cents lower on Tuesday as weather forecasts shrugged off any frost scares over the next 10 to 15 days. Better than expected yield reports coming out of Kentucky also helped to drive corn prices lower yesterday. Some yield reports of 200 BPA were reported in Kentucky where normal yields would be near 150. F C Stone came out with their crop estimates yesterday putting the corn crop at 13.02 billion bushels with an average yield of 162.7 BPA. The soybean market lost 24 cents yesterday as the prices came under pressure from good weather forecasts and reduced demand. Lower outside markets also added to the negative pressure on the soybean market on Tuesday. Soybean harvest is now underway in the Delta with many other states showing signs of soybeans turning yellow. Some of these beans will be ready to harvest in late September. This will soon erode the big premium between old and new crop soybean prices. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were 7 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 2 cents. There is nothing new overnight for the markets to trade on , so expect a two sided trade today. The markets will tend to follow the action in the soybean market today. If these prices fail, than the other commodities will also struggle. 8-24-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 8 cents higher on Monday as the trade added a little weather premium back into the markets. Traders remain concerned about the cool temperatures and the risk from an early frost this year. Slow development of the crop in many states has put much of the country at risk. Several states will need an even later than normal frost date to reach normal maturity. Pro Farmer has estimated this years corn crop to acheive a national yield of 160 bpa. That is higher than USDA's current projection of 159.5. The soybean market closed 34 1/2 cents higher on Monday as the Pro Farmer bean yield estmate on Friday provoked buying of soybeans on Monday. Pro Farmer estimated national soybean yields at 41 bpa which was lower than USDA's August estimate of 41.7. The trade now realizes that any further reduction in yields could seriously reduce carryout numbers for next year. Weather forecasts calling for an extended period of cool weather across the Midwest added some premium back to the markets on Monday. In the overnight trade corn closed down a penny, beans were down 1 1/2 cents and wheat closed 1/2 cent lower. This morning look for the markets to trade lower in line with the overnight settlements. 8-21-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 1/2 cents higher on Wednesday as crude oil prices were sharply higher. The crude oil inventory stocks report released yesterday was much more bullish than the market had anticipated moving prices up over $3.00 per barrel. Some volatility was seen in the market yesterday as the CFTC changed the rules on speculative limits held by two funds holding corn, beans and wheat contracts. This drove prices lower. Later in the session one of the large funds involved said that they had not exceeded the limits and would not be selling contracts. This rallied prices back higher. The Pro Farmer Tour moved into Illinois yesterday and found corn yields to be down 2 to 8 bushels per acre from last year. The soybean market closed a penny lower yesterday in a day of two sided trade. A lot of volatility was seen in yesterday's market as the news from CFTC played havoc with the markets. Pro Farmer surveyed Illinois bean fields yesterday and reported pod counts down as much as 34% in some places and 19% higher than year ago levels in other places. USDA is forecasting Illinois soybean yields to be down by 7% from last year. High pod counts were found in Iowa with yields estimated to come in around 52 BPA up from 46 last year. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were up 3 cents and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Look for a two sided trade today with markets leaning toward the positive side. 8-19-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 13 TO 15 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed nearly unchanged on Tuesday as traders try to get a handle on yield prospects for fall harvest. The Pro Farmers CropTour will be releasing their yield results on Friday, August 21st. Crop development still remains a concern as North Dakota's corn crop is reported to be way behind with only 3% in the dough stage compared to 41% on average. South Dakota, Illinois, and Iowa are also well behind normal. The corn crop will need a very late frost this year to reach normal maturity. Good yields, however , can still be achieved under the right conditions. Some analysts believe that December futures could trade below $3.00 well into harvest this year. The soybean market closed 5 cents higher on Tuesday as the market recouped some of its losses from Monday. The market was still hesitant to rally due to China's announcement that they intend to subsidize the crushers in NE China to stimulate soybeans to move out of their reserve program. On the positive side yesterday, China was reported to have purchased 175,000 metric tonnes of soybeans for the coming year. In the overnight trade, corn closed down 2 1/2 cents, beans were 14 cents lower and wheat closed down a penny. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 8-18-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 cents lower on Monday on beneficial rains over a large part of the growing area. Lower outside markets also pressured grain prices lower yesterday. The Pro Farmer crop tour got underway with good yield results coming out of Ohio and South Dakota. Ohio yield estimates came in at 24% better than last years estimates and South Dakota yields are also projected to be above average. Late crop developement was noted in the Dakota's which could give them some problems even with a normal frost date this year. Crop condition ratings for corn remained unchanged for the week at 68% good to excellent. The soybean market closed 27 cents lower on Monday as some poor economic news hurt the markets. US retail sales fell short of analysts expectations and resulted in a much lower equities market and plumetting stock market yesterday. Decent rains across the Midwest and Delta region along with cooler temperatures also drove the markets lower. Soybean conditions remained unchanged at 66% good to excellent which was above the 62% rating for this time last year. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 cents, beans were down 11 cents and wheat closed 3 cents lower. Today look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close with the markets expected to trade on the plus side for a good part of the day. 08-17-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 7 TO 9 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 23 TO 25 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 6 cents on Friday as forecasts improved rain chances over a good portion of the grain belt improving crop prospects. Lower outside markets also pressured prices. USDA is also forecasting lower animal numbers which are expecting to be down by 2.3% from last year. The pro farmer crop tour begins this week and traders are expecting to see some big yiels numbers coming out of this. This could keep prices low going into the fall harvestseason. Soybean futures closed 25 cents lower on Friday and big basis losses were also noted as old crop - new crop spreads narrowed significantly. Forecasts for significant rains this week over the corn belt weighed heavily on prices on Friday. The prospects of significant improvement in final soybean yields was definetly on traders minds. Soybean crush numbers surprised traders by coming out 9% lower than last month. This also had a negative impact on Friday's prices. In the overnight trade corn closed down 5 cents, beans were 40 cents lower and wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to open lower this morning on favorable crop weather prospects and lower outside markets. 8-14-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 11 TO 13 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 6 cents lower on Thursday as fund selling continued following the USDA supply-demand report. A weaker dollar and stronger crude oil prices were not enough to sustain price strength into the close of the market yesterday. Weather forecasters are calling for slightly above normal temperatures and normal precipitation over the coming week. The only real threat from weather would now appear to be with the possibility of an early frost. The trade suspects some type of frost damage could occur to a crop planted this late even with an average frost date this year. The soybean market closed 28 cents lower on Thursday after starting out the session in higher territory. Funds soon began seling and sold nearly 6000 bean contracts by the end of the session, driving prices much lower. Export sales came out at a solid 37.5 million bushels but even that wasn't enough to sustain a higher market. The US now has more than 50 million bushels more of exports on the books than USDA is projecting for our yearly sales. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were down 16 cents and wheat closed 3 cents lower. Today look for the markets to open lower and trade lower for most of the session. 8-06-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 11 cents higher on Thursday on signs that the US economy is starting to improve. GDP contracted at an only 1% annual rate after the 6.4% rate from the previous three months. This showed a marked improvement by the fact that the US economy shrank at a much lower rate in the second quarter and served as a sign that the deep recession is starting to wind down. The dry weather in Argentina continues and may pull acres away from corn and into soybeans. Some dry areas are also starting to show up in the Midwest with Iowa down 1.5 inches from normal precipitation in the month of July. The soybean market closed up 70 cents on the cash and 55 cents higher on new crop as china continues to buy soybeans from the US. They purchased 1.89 MMT of new crop beans and also some old crop beans from us yesterday. US beans continue to be cheaper than those originating out of Brazil and has enhaned our exports. Signs that the Chinese economy is also improving helped to rally soybean prices yesterday. In the overnight trade, corn closed up 3 cents, beans were a penny lower on old crop and 3 cents higher on new crop and wheat closed up 4 cents. Look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. 7-30-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 14 TO 16 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed unchanged on Thursday despite the fact that crude oil was down nearly 4 dollars per barrel. Oil prices were sharply lower yesterday as it was revealed that crude oil stocks were the highest they have been in the past six months. Also fear over regulation of speculation in crude oil futures weakened prices yesterday. In other news, Argentina corn acres could be down by as much as 25% fom last year due to dryness and current government policies discouraging plantings. The soybean market closed 3 cents higher on Thursday as we saw a day of choppy trading. A stronger US dollar and lower crude oil prices kept a lid on soybean prices yesterday. On the positive side, US soybeans still remain cheaper than Brazilian beans which will keep US exports strong during August and September. This will keep US old crop stocks at very tight levels until the new crop can be harvested, which will be later than normal this year. On August 12th, USDA will update the supply-demand numbers which some feel will drop national soybean yields well below the July estimates of 42.6 BPA. In the overnight trade corn closed 5 cents higher, beans were up 25 cents on old crop and 15 cents on new crop and wheat closed 6 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-29-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 2 cents on Tuesday in another round of light liquidation. Lack of any new positive news kept the markets on the defensive. The latest weather forecasts have some rain across most crop areas over the next week with below normal temperatures predicted. Beyond that, the extended forecasts are calling for a warmer and drier trend. US corn ratings dropped a point this week to 70% good to excellent but still remain at record high levels. The soybean market closed 33 cents higher on Tuesday on talks that India might be forced to halt exports on next year's soybean crop production. There was also rumors yesterday that China was in the market for 1 to 2 cargoes of US beans for shipment this fall. China's second attempt to sell beans from their state reserves failed again as no bids were made at the auction yesterday. The beans are being offered for sale at $30 per ton above the going rate. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were down 13 cents and wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to start off steady to lower with choppy trade expected today. 7-27-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 10 cents on Friday as traders watched the market give back half of Thursday's gain. Weather conditions continue to benefit the pollination of the corn crop. The crop condition report this afternoon is expected to show a rating of 71% good to excellent which is much higher than year ago levels. South Korea bought some corn over the weekend and traders are looking for export inspections to come out around 38 million bushels later this morning. The soybean market closed down 2 1/2 cents on Friday in a day of choppy trade. The market continues in a liquidation phase. The United States and China will engage in two days of high level talks about trade and the US budget deficit. It was reported that China was believed to have taken two cargoes of US beans over the weekend. Export inspections are expected to fall between 10 to 15 million bushels on this morning's report. Crop conditions to be released this afternoon are expected to remain at 67% good to excellent. In the overnight trade corn and beans both closed down a penny and wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to open lower this morning and then trade on both sides of the close. 7-24-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 1 CENT HIGHER BEANS - 1 TO 3 CENT LOWER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 19 cents higher on Thursday on USDA"s announcement that they planned to collect updated data on corn and sorghum planted acres due to the adverse weather conditions this spring. Some believe that USDA will lower corn planted acres by 500,000 to up to 1.5 million acres. The states being reviewed include Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri, and North Dakota. The idea is to have the information gathered and dispersed for the August 12th crop report. The soybean market closed 5 cents higher for old crop and 24 cents higher for new crop. The soybean market followed corn higher on Thursday. The census crush report came out better than expected at 140.2 million bushels. The trade was only looking for a figuire of 138. Soybean exports were also higher than expected on Thursday's report with total US soybean sales up 12.4% from year ago totals. The trade is still thinking that the carryout of this year's soybean crop could be as low as 75 million bushels. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were up 4 cents and wheat closed nearly unchanged. Look for a two sided trade today with prices finding support on any setbacks. 7-23-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 1/2 cents lower on Wednesday as traders have continued to liquidate long corn positions. Traders are still concerned that the CFTC will put limits on speculation by funds in the commodities markets. Over the past couple of days decent rains have fallen across Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan. In many cases, this has come just in time for pollination. Several of the Western Corn Belt states were in dire need of rain and it came just in time to really benefit the crop. Many traders are starting to think that national corn yields this year will top 160 BPA. The soybean market closed 4 cents higher yesterday as demand for soybeans remains strong. China took a record 4.7 MMT of soybeans in the month of June and sales to China for July continue to be very good. The crush report is due out this morning with the soybean crush estimated to came in at 138.5. The trade continues to toss around varying numbers on soybean yields for this years crop. Some analysts believe that we will see yields around 44 BPA with cooler temperatures while others believe late plantings will reduce yields and come in around 41 BPA this year. USDA will release their next estimates on August 12th. In the ovenight trade corn closed down 8 1/2 cents, beans were 7 1/2 cents higher and wheat closed 4 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning as USDA will begin to collect updated data on corn and sorghum planted acres. Some feel that USDA could lower corn planted acreage between 500,000 to 1.5 million acres. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed a penny higher yesterday in a rather non-eventful trading day. Corn exports came in about as expected at 36.8 million bushels. The crop tour over the weekend found nearly record numbers of second ears on the corn crops in Iowa and Nebraska. The crop condition report released yesterday afternoon showed that 71% of the crop is in good to excellent condition compared to only 65% at this time last year. The trade was looking for a slightly lower number. There have been some 1 inch rains in the Western Corn Belt since yesterday and these are expected to move across the Midwest late today and into tomorrow. The soybean market closed 23 cents higher on Monday as record tight carryout and strong exports and crush continue to run cash prices higher. South America is reporting that they are nearly out of the market for old beans. China continues to buy both old and new beans from the U.S. Bean crop conditions came out at 67% good to excellent yesterday afternoon which was up 1 % from the previous week. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 1/2 cents , beans were down 5 cents and wheat closed down 4 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-20-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 9 TO 12 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 5 1/2 cents higher on Friday as cool temperatures this past week have slowed down the maturity of the crop. Below average temperatures are expected to continue over the next week leading some to question the possibility of an early frost this year. There is not much correlation between cool summers and early frosts, but the thought does enter into the minds of traders and some risk premium may be added into the markets this year just in case. The soybean market closed 33 1/2 cents higher on Friday as the soybean market had become oversold and was due for a rally. The soybean market dropped nearly a dollar per bushel in one weeks time. Traders will be anxiously awaiting this afternoon's crop progress report. Condition ratings are expected to show a slight decline in ratings. Cool summer temperatures and late plantings are slowing down the maturity of the crops. The big question remains as to how this will affect the final soybean yields. In the overnight trade corn closed up a penny, beans were 14 cents higher and wheat closed up 6 cents. Look for the markets to open higher this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-17-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 9 TO 12 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 13 cents on Thursday as the trade continues to believe that the cooler temperatures will be good for corn that is pollinating. Not much corn in Illinois is at this stage yet, but many places in Iowa, Nebraska, and Minnesota have crops mature enough to take advantage of this kind of weather for pollination. The trade is starting to think that 160 BPA national yields might be achievable this year. If so, that could bring carryout totals on next years crop to over 2 billion bushels. Corn prices have dropped over $1.00 per bushel since June 1st. The soybean market closed 44 cents lower on Thursday in another day of heavy fund liquidation. Talk of the Chinese selling both corn and beans from their reserves, weghed heavily on the markets. Soybean prices have dropped over a dollar per bushel in the past couple of weeks. Soybean export sales remain very good coming out at 4.9 million bushels this week which brings total sales for this year above USDA projections of 1.26 billion bushels. In the overnight trade corn closed up 2 cents, beans were up 10 cents and wheat closed 7 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-16-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 14 TO 17 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 9 cents on Thursday as mild weather across the heart of the cornbelt continiues to drive prices lower. The trade feels that below normal temperatures during the summer leads to above normal corn yields. Tyson announced yesterday that they will be reducing their swine herd by 28% due to poor profit margins. This seems to be a growing trend in the livestock industry. This will reduce the amount of corn needed for livestock feed in the near future. The soybean market closed 14 cents lower after a strong opening. USDA announced a sale of 113,000 metric tons of soybeans to China which was a surprise to the trade. This rallied the market in the early morning session. Later in the morning talk had surfaced that China would release some of their soybean reserves for sale in August. This caused the market to collapse. This choppiness in the bean market is likely to continue into fall as the trade tries to sort out a tight old crop supplies situation with the possiblity of good new crop prospects. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents, beans were 25 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 5 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-15-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 9 TO 11 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 6 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 7 cents higher on Tuesday as the trade has now seen a couple of days of higher prices. Commercial buying helped to support prices yesterday as the dollar was weaker and outside markets were stronger. The corn crop continues to lag behind the 5 year average pace as cool weather continues to dominate the upper Midwest weather pattern. Pollination will be several weeks behind normal which means that an early frost could be devastating . A big reduction in sunspot activity lowering summer temperatures leaves the corn crop at risk. The soybean market closed 16 cents higher on Tuesday as a weaker US Dollar and strong export business helped to support prices. Export sales of 130,000 metric tons of soybeans for the 2009-2010 marketing year and 42,000 metric tons of soybean oil were reported on Tuesday. June soybean crush figuires came out at 133.1 million bushels which was lower than the average estimate of 135.9. In the overnight trade corn closed 1 1/2 cents higher, beans were up 9 1/2 cents and wheat closed 6 3/4 cents higher. This morning look for the markets to open higher and spend the majority of the session on the plus side. 7-14-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - STEADY Good Morning, Corn futures closed 3 1/2 cents higher on Monday as the market recovered from its early losses. Weekly export inspections came out higher than expected at 38.8 million bushels. USDA left crop condition scores unchanged yesterday at 71% good to excellent which is still 7 points higher than last year at this time. The corn crop is 16% silked which compares to 12% last year and the 5 year average of 32%. Weather conditions look mostly favorable over the next 10 days for crop deveolpment. The soybean market closed 26 cents lower on Monday as lower outside markets helped to pressure prices. Funds continued to liquidate positions yesterday as the negativism in the marketplace was evident for another day. Soybean exports on Monday came out in line with expectations at 10.9 million bushels. Crop ratings for soybeans were reported at 66% good to excellent which was the same as was reported last week. 24% of the soybean crop was reported to be blooming compared to 43% for the 5 year average. In the overnight trade corn closed 4 cents higher, beans were up 2 cents and wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to open slightly higher this morning as the trade tries to determine a market direction. 7-13-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 7 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - STEADY TO 2 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down a penny on Friday after opening sharply lower after the USDA supply-demand report numbers were released. USDA estimated the corn crop at 12.29 billion bushels for the coming year. They increased the 08/09 corn ending stocks to 1.770 billion bushels which was up by 170 million from last months estimate. Next years ending stocks were increased by 460 million bushels to 1.550 billion bushels. Corn yields were left unchanged at 153.4 BPA. The soybean market closed 3 cents lower on Friday as the USDA reports came out neutral to bearish for soybeans. The old crop carryout number came out about as expected at 110 million bushels. New crop carryout came in at 250 million bushels which was 21 million bushels higher than expected. USDA is expecting a 42.6 BPA yield which was unchanged from their last estimates. Weather forecasts look good for crop development in the latest 6 to 10 day outlooks. In the overnight trade corn closed down 4 cents, beans were down 9 cents nad wheat closed unchanged. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. 7-10-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 5 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Wednesday as a weaker US dollar and strong exports helped to keep prices higher all day. Corn export sales came out at a strong 45.9 million bushels. This mornings supply-demand report revealed corn ending stocks at 1.770 billion bushels compared to last months estimate of 1.600 for the crop year 08-09. Ending stocks for 09-10 came out at 1.550 vs the June estimate of 1.090. Old crop stocks increased by 170 million bushels due to reductions in feed and ethanol usage. USDA increased corn production estimates by 2 million bushels from June but kept the yield projections unchanged at 153 BPA. The soybean market closed 32 cents higher yesterday as strong export sales and a fear of a dwindling supply of beans helped to support prices. Export sales of 45.1 million bushels suggest that demand for US beans still remains strong. The supply-demand report released this morning left old crop ending stocks unchanged at 110 million bushels and new crop stocks were increased by 40 million bushels from Junes estimates of 210 million bushels. USDA raised the soybean acreage to the 77.5 million acres forecast in June and left the yield unchanged at 42.6 BPA. This mornings report will be looked on as nuetral to bearish by the trade. In the overnight trade, corn closed up 1/2 cent, beans were 3 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets to open lower as a result of the USDA reports. 7-9-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - OLD CROP 1 CENT HIGHER, NEW CROP 11 TO 13 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 6 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed unchanged yesterday as traders took to the sidelines to see what the latest direction of the markets would be. Crude oil was sharply lower yesterday reflecting the slow economies throughout the world. Weather remains a non-factor as nearly ideal corn belt weather is forecast through the middle of July. Slightly warmer temperatures would be welcome in the eastern corn belt ,however, to push along pollination which will be delayed by the late planting this year. Friday, USDA will release their supply-demand report. June stocks are now estimated at 1.692 billion bushels vs the 1.60 billion bushels estimated last month. The soybean market closed 38 1/2 cents lower yesterday as traders liquidated more of their long positions. Continued talk of soybean sales cancellations to China also drove the soy markets down sharply yesterday. Weather forecasts continue to be good for soybean development. On Friday's report, the trade is looking for old crop bean carryout to come out at 107 million bushels vs last months estimate of 110. New crop carryout is expected to be 229 vs last months estimate of 210. In the overnight trade, corn closed up 3 cents, beans were a penny higher and wheat closed 6 cents higher. Today look for the markets to open higher and spend most of the session on the plus side. 7-8-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - STEADY TO 2 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 9 cents yesterday in another day of fund liquidation. The trade is becoming increasingly concerned about new regulation over excessive speculation in the commodities markets. The CFTC is talking about placing limits on index funds involvement in the grains which is creating a bearish sentiment. Funds sold nearly 8000 contracts of corn yesterday. On Friday USDA will release their latest supply-demand estimates. Traders are anticipating USDA to raise 09/10 carryout to 1.7 to 1.75 billion bushels. The soybean market closed 65 cents lower yesterday on massive fund selling as several stop losses were touched off triggering limit down moves during the session. Several bearish factors were in the markets yesterday including possible CFTC limits on index funds, talk of Chinese soybean cancellations, and non-threatening weather to push the crops along. On Friday, USDA will be out with a new supply-demand report. USDA is expected to increase soybean exports by 10 million bushels and increase crush by 5 million bushels. They are expected to drop residual usage, however, which could raise carryouts above last month's estimate. In the overnight trade corn closed up 1 cent, beans were down 3 1/2 cents and wheat closed up 1 1/2 cents. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning with more fund liquidation a possibility today. 7-7-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 5 TO 8 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 11 cents lower on Monday as funds continued to liquidate their long positions. Weaker crude oil prices, poor economic news and a stronger dollar all added to the markets selloff. The latest 6 to 10 day weather forecasts continue to call for below normal temperatures and normal to above normal rainfall for the northern corn belt. The southern corn belt continues to be warm and dry. The crop condition report showed a decrease in the good to excellent category by 1%. The trade was looking for an increase of 1%. The soybean market closed 35 cents lower on Monday as the outside markets fell sharply due to a poor jobs performance report. Funds sold nearly 5000 contracts of soybeans on the day. The USDA crop condition report showed a deterioration of 2% in the bean crop ratings. The trade was looking for a slight improvement. The soybean export report came out better than expected at 14.1 million bushels. In the overnight trade corn closed up 5 cents, beans were up 3 cents and wheat closed 5 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning as the market draws support from the lower crop ratings reported yesterday afternoon. 7-6-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 9 TO 11 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 28 TO 32 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 5 TO 7 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Thursday as traders went into the long July 4th weekend very cautiously. Since the acreage and stocks reports released last Tuesday, corn prices have dropped 29 cents on old crop and 40 cents on new crop. The stronger US dollar and the higher acreage reports have kept the markets on the defensive. Corn export sales came out on Thursday with much better than expected numbers but was not enough to override the overall bearish sentiment. The soybean market closed 15 cents lower on Thursday as lower crude oil prices, a stronger dollar and weaker equities markets all added to the downward pressure on soybean prices. Strong export sales of 7.1 million bushels were not enough to ward off all of the other negative influences in the marketplace. Good rains over the weekend, along with sharply lower crude oil prices and and forecasts calling for normal temperatures and rainfall over the next 6 to 10 days have the markets on the defensive again this morning. In the overnight trade corn closed down 9 cents, beans were 26 cents lower and wheat closed down 5 cents. Poor economic performance on the job front in the US has put pressure on crude oil prices and has spilled over into commodities this morning. 7-2-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 18 TO 20 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents higher on Wednesday as a weaker dollar and fund buying helped to stimulate the markets after the bearish acreage report released on Tuesday. Weather forecasts also helped to raise prices as new talk surfaced about a possible high pressure ridge developing across the western Midwest for later next week. If it happens, it will bring less rainfall and much warmer temperatures into that region. It was reported yesterday that China was going to start releasing their corn reserves next week in areas where supplies have become tight. Corn prices in some provinces in China have risen as much as 13% during June. The soybean market closed 41 cents higher on Wednesday as traders became increasingly concerned about hte tightness of bean supplies. South Korea and China continue to buy beans from the U.S. Forecasters talk of a building high pressure ridge over major growing areas of the U.S. next week also added to the sharp jump in soybean prices yesterday. There is talk out of Brazil that farmers may plant more acres to soybeans next season. The lower input costs for beans and the recent runnup in prices have some thinking of increasing soy production by as much as 10%. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents, beans were 16 cents lower and wheat closed down 3 cents. Look for the markets this morning to open in line with the overnight settlements. 6-25-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 1/2 cents lower on Wednesday as weather conditions continue to be nearly ideal for crop development. The much needed growing degree units are finally accumulating and helping to push the late planted crops along. Actually GDD units have caught up with last year after getting off to a very slow start. On Tuesday of next week USDA will release their stocks and acreage reports. Traders are looking for corn stocks to come out around 4 billion bushels as of June 1st and the corn acreage number to be between 83 to 84 million acres planted. The soybean market closed 6 cents higher on Wednesday in a day of choppy trade. The tightness in the old crop bean supplies are sustaining nearby values. It looks like beans will remain relatively tight right up until late September this year as even the beans in the Delta and southern regions got planted late this spring. Weather in the Midwest is nearly ideal for bean growth but the hot and dry conditions in the deep south are stressing the soybean crop there. In the overnight trade corn closed down 2 1/2 cents, beans were up 4 cents and wheat closed down 5 cents. Look for the markets to open mixed this morning with some evening of positions prior to the June 30th reports expected in the coming days. 6-24-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Tuesday after the recent sharp decline in prices. Funds have reduced their positions by 50,000 contracts over the past week of trading. This has sent cash prices down by 55 cents in recent days. It was nice to see that the markets were actually able to close on a higher note. Weather forecasts continue to call for warmer and drier conditions across the Midwest which is great for crop development. The southern belt and Delta regions will more than likely stay hotter and drier than normal but the heat and moisture in other areas will be extremely beneficial.The soybean market closed 27 1/2 cents higher on Tuesday as stronger outside markets and a weaker dollar supported soybean prices. This was a welcome rebound after the big setback in prices experienced over the past couple of weeks. The trade will now be focussing their attention on the June 30th acreage and stocks reports. The trade remains concerned that ending stocks this year could drop down to a mere 75 million bushels which would be the lowest level in decades. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were down a penny and wheat closed up 4 cents. Look for choppy price action in the markets going into the June 30th reports. 6-23-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STAEDY TO 1 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 12 TO 15 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT 1 TO 3 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 14 cents on Monday as the stock market and energies market both were sharply lower. A stronger dollar yesterday also weighed on grain prices. Warmer temperatures across the corn belt are pushing the crops along nicely. Export inspections came out better than expected yesterday at 38.1 million bushels with Japan being the featured buyer.Crop conditions remained unchanged on Monday's report coming out at 70% good to excellent. The soybean market closed 27 1/2 cents lower yesterday as all outside markets were lower and funds were sellers again on Monday. The latest weather forecasts are deemed to be very favorable for crop development. Monday's export inspections came out better than expected at 13.4 million bushels. Bean planting progress was reported to be 91% complete vs 87% for last week. Illinois lags behind at only 79% complete. The bean crop is now rated at 67% good to excellent nationwide. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were up 13 cents and wheat closed 4 cents higher. Look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 12 TO 15 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents lower on Friday as a stronger dollar has kept the market prices on the defensive of late. Funds have continued in a liquidation mode as the seasonal trend works lower. On Friday, Informa released their latest acreage estimates. They estimated that 83.1 million acres of corn were planted this spring. That's 1.9 million acres less than USDA's last estimate of 85 million acres. On June 30th USDA will update their acreage and stocks estimates. The soybean market closed 35 cents lower on Friday as negativism took over the marketplace. Informa came out with their soybean acreage estmate of 78.8 million acres which was 2.8 million acres higher than USDA's March estimate of 76. The traders will be anxiously awaiting to see if thses numbers are confirmed on the June 30th reports. Talks of Chinese soybean cancellations continued to surface last week which has also pressured soybean prices but strong exports and good crush numbers continue to tighten old crop supplies. In the overnight trade corn and beans closed 11 cents lower and wheat was down 9 1/2 cents. The weather outlook this week calls for above normal temperatures and precipitation. Some are suggesting that extreme heat may be on the way. The markets will find support if this materializes. 6-19-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - STEADY WHEAT - 2 TO 4 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 1/2 cents lower on Thursday as the corn market continues in a liquidation phase. Weather conditions call for much warmer temperatures in the 6 to 10 picture which is just what the crop needs now. Informa will release their estimates on acreage and stocks this morning. Traders are looking for a reduction in corn planted acreage of 1.0 to 1.5 million acres. Corn export sales numbers came out at 45 million bushels which was higher than expected. South Korea and Japan were the main buyers. The soybean market closed 7 1/2 cents higher yesterday in the July futures while the new crop beans closed 6 1/2 cents lower. Old crop beans continue strong on good demand and dwindling supplies. New crop beans remain under pressure from additional acreage swings away from corn and into soy. Export sales yesterday came out better than expected at 9.2 million bushels. Featured buyers for the week were China and Mexico. Informa will release acreage estimates today with soybean acres expected to increase by up to 2 million acres. In the overnight trade corn closed 1 1/2 cents higher, beans were up 1/2 cent and wheat closed 4 cents higher. Look for the markets to open in line with the overnight settlements and then react to the Informa numbers after they are released. 6-18-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 1 TO 2 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 1 TO 3 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 cents higher on Wednesday after closing lower for the past three trading sessions. The corn prices have dropped 34 cents in the past couple of days and were due for a close on the positive side. The market is currently trying to find some bullish news to support prices. The June 30th acreage report could give the corn market that rebound if a larger reduction in planted acreage comes from that report. The outside markets, weather forecasts and the stronger dollar have led price direction. Heavy liquidation on the part of the funds has also driven markets lower the past few days. The soybean market closed 5 cents higher on Wednesday as the funds returned to the marketplace purchasing nearly 3000 bean contracts. Heavy rains in parts of the Midwest, further delayng the planting of beans, helped to stimulate interest in the soybean market yesterday. The tight old crop stock situation will continue to steer market direction until the new crop can be harvested. Any weather problems this summer will only add to the nervousness in the marketplace. In the overnight trade corn closed down 3 cents, beans were 2 1/2 cents lower and wheat closed up 2 cents. Look for the markets to be choppy today with prices expected to be well supported at all lower levels 6-17-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - STEADY BEANS - 2 TO 3 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 2 cents lower on Tuesday as favorable weather for the next two weeks will allow for good growing conditions across the Midwest. Monday night's report showed that 70% of the nations corn crop was rated good to excellent comapred to only 57% last year.In the past 23 years, only 7 times has the crop been rated higher. Traders, however, are looking for a reduction in corn planted acres of between 1.5 to 2.0 million acres now that we have surpassed the June 15 th planting threshold. USDA will likely have to reduce corn planted acreage below 85 million in their next report to be released on June 30th. The soybean market closed 4 cents higher on Tuesday in a slight turnaround from the sharply lower closes on both Friday and Monday. The trade is anticipating that as many as 2 million acres more soybeans could be planted this year. Informa will release their acreage estimates later this week. USDA will release their acreage and stocks numbers on June 30th. There is still nearly 3.5 million acres of soybeans yet to be planted in Illinois and Indiana. Yield reductions of 1/2 bushel per day can be expected for beans planted after June 20th. In the overnight trade corn closed unchanged, beans were down 4 cents and wheat closed 6 cents lower. Look for the markets to trade on both sides of the close today with prices to be well supported on any setbacks. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 3 TO 5 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 13 TO 17 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 5 TO 7 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 19 1/2 cents lower on Monday as speculators liquidated postions in a big way. Continuing strength in the US Dollar and lower crude oil prices helped to pave the way for the sharply lower commodity prices yesterday. USDA's crop condition reports showed a 1% improvement in the nations corn crop which is now rated at 70% good to excellent. One year ago the crop was only rated at 57%. Current weather conditions and forecasts for warmer temperatures will be ideal for the progression of the crops. The soybean market closed 48 1/2 cents lower on Monday as continued liquidation plagued the marketplace. Funds sold over 6000 contracts of soybeans yesterday as the stock market dropped 200 points and the other outside markets were also much lower. Weekly export inspections came in better than expected yesterday at 12.5 million bushels. USDA reported planting progress at 87% complete which was pretty much in line with expectations. This still leaves nearly 10 million acres of soybeans yet to be planted. The soybean crop is currently rated at 66% good to excellent which is 10 points better than this time last year. In the overnight trade corn closed up 4 cents, beans were 17 cents higher and wheat closed up 6 cents. This morning look for the markets to open higher and possibly trade on both sides of the close during the session. OPENING CALLS : CORN - 6 TO 8 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 20 TO 25 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 10 TO 12 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed down 15 1/2 cents on Friday as weather forecasts improved to allow good growing conditions to exist over the next week. Profit taking was also noted in the marketplace ahead of the weekend. A stronger US Dollar and lower crude oil prices also weighed on values. Export inspections will be out later this morning with USDA expected to show between 32 to 37 million bushels of corn exports. This afternoon the weekly crop progress report will be released with traders looking for an improvement in the corn crop by 2 to 3%. The soybean market closed 21 1/2 cents lower on Friday as profit taking was evident in the marketplace. Despite the sharply lower close on Friday, soybeans still managed to end the week 12 cents higher. The chinese may now be looking more to South America for their beans as rumors are that they may have purchased between 4 to 6 cargos of beans out of Brazil and Argentina. Export inspections are believed to come out between 6 to 11 million bushels on this mornings report. The first crop rating on soybeans will be released this afternoon with traders expecting the bean crop to be rated 66 to 69% good to excellent. The crop is now expected to be near 86% planted. In the overnight trade corn closed down another 7 1/2 cents, beans were 24 cents lower and wheat closed down 12 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning as the stronger US Dollar continues to weigh on prices. 6-11-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER BEANS - 10 TO 14 CENTS HIGHER WHEAT - 4 TO 6 CENTS HIGHER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 8 cents lower after opening higher in response to the USDA Supply-Demand report. Strength in the US Dollar weakened buying sentiment. USDA numbers came out pretty much in line with traders expectations. Ending stocks came out right in line with estimates at 1.6 billion bushels. Corn yields were lowered by 2 bushels per acre now at 153.4. Feed use dropped 100 million bushels for next year resulting in a projected carryout of 1.09 billion bushels for the 09-10 crop year. Corn acres were left unchanged on this report. Traders will be looking for some reduction in corn acres on the June report. The soybean market closed 2 1/2 cents higher on Wednesday following the supply-demand report. The USDA report showed no surprises as old crop carryout declined from 130 to 110 million bushels, pretty much in line with expectations. This reflects the tightest carryout since 1983. Crush and exports both increased 10 million bushels resulting in the lower ending stocks figure. USDA is still forecasting a 42.6 bushel per acre soybean yield even after last years late planted soybean crop yielded only 39.6 BPA. In the overnight trade corn closed 4 cents higher, beans were up 14 cents and wheat closed 6 cents higher. Look for the markets to open higher this morning but struggle to hold on to early gains. 06-08-09 OPENING CALLS : CORN - 5 TO 7 CENTS LOWER BEANS - 8 TO 10 CENTS LOWER WHEAT - 11 TO 13 CENTS LOWER Good Morning, Corn futures closed 4 1/2 cents lower on Friday as traders expected some planting progress to continue to be made over the weekend. A stronger US Dollar aided in the drop of commodity prices. A report released on Friday showed an improvement in the number of job losses during May which helped to strengthen the dollar. Ethanol margins are starting to improve leading some to believe that investors will begin to pour money back into the commodities again. The soybean market closed 4 1/2 cents lower on Friday as traders ligthened up their positions prior to the weekend. This afternoon USDA will be estimating the planting progress for soybeans. Right now traders are looking for between 75 to 80% of the nations bean crop to be planted as of Sunday night. Last year by this time 76% of the soybeans were planted but the average is 87%. Weather forecasts continue to put rain in their outlook about every 2 to 3 days making it hard to finish with planting. In the overnight trade corn closed down 6 cents,beans were 8 cents lower and wheat closed down 12 cents. Look for the markets to open lower this morning in line with the overnight settlements. |
