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5/13/26 MIDCO AFTERNOON COMMENTS
🌽 Corn Market Update
Corn futures finished quietly higher on Wednesday, making new highs for the week largely on friendly ethanol data and speculative ideas that a China deal involving US corn purchases could be announced in the coming days. Aside from comments that "spirited debates" were taking place in the House today over the new E15 bill, we've heard little updates on the front other than should it pass, it's likely to be rolled into a broader Farm Bill that is also being deliberated in the Senate. Otherwise, planting pace continues to chug along for another couple days before rains hit the first part of next week, keeping the general good start to the growing season still pretty much intact.
🌱 Soybean Market Update
Bean futures closed quietly higher also on Wednesday, though most of the focus here was in the products as meal was hot on the Argentina news and bean oil sold off on what felt like spread unwinding. Should we have no headlines out of China by morning, it would be our opinion that tomorrow's trade likely stays choppy with nobody having a lot of interest in taking new positions ahead of what is expected to be a volatile couple of days. While the products each have their own fundamental stories that likely hold, futures pricing in the beans the next couple days likely becomes almost entirely a product of what is said between Trump and Xi. If the meeting is a non-event, there is likely premium that has been injected in anticipation that we assume will get pulled out in the weeks ahead.
🌾 Wheat Market Update
After finishing limit up on Tuesday, wheat futures tested the highs early last night and then backed off into the day session, with both the KC and Chicago markets finishing lower amid a lack of fresh new news. There will be a lot of crop headlines between now and when harvest gets wrapped up, but production losses won't be completely quantified until combines start rolling in another few weeks. We've talked about it before, but supply driven rallies can be fickle; once production numbers stabilize, focus will then shift elsewhere in the world, likely to the Black Sea region.
5/13/26 MIDCO MORNING COMMENTS
Good morning. Grain prices are mixed this morning. Chicago wheat is taking a small breather, while KC is higher again. Both classes will have expanded 70 cent price limits today. The sharp cut in production yesterday is fueling the strength in wheat. The winter wheat estimate yesterday was the lowest since 1965. Abandonment for winter wheat was at an historically high level of 32%. The Kansas Wheat tour started yesterday and the first day came away with a yield of 38.3 bpa, which is below the 5-year average of 45.7 bpa. It is expected that more of the same will be found over the remaining two days of the tour. The corn report leaned a touch negative yesterday while beans were neutral. Beans are still optimistic that additional demand will be uncovered during President Trump’s visit to China yet this week. The USDA isn’t hinting of anything major yet as they estimated the 26/27 bean export program at 1.630 bbu. which is up 100 mbu. for this current year. The House is expected to vote today on year-around E15. A change to the small refinery exemption is also part of the legislation, which is where the sticking point is for approval. Crude is steady this morning as there is no change in negotiations with Iran. President Trump continues to hint that his patience his running thin with Iran’s peace proposal, but he has maintained his restraint so far on continuing attacks. A few showers will continue to dot the Midwest this week with the heaviest totals due early next week. Temps will shoot much higher over the weekend but then moderate a little next week. Overall, the forecast is warm and wet for the Midwest through the end of the month. The areas that need it the most, the southwest and southeast, look to have to wait a few more days for relief. The weekly ethanol report is out this morning. Now that another report is behind us, the markets focus returns to the China visit and the war. For corn and beans, the weather in the U.S. looks good enough for now to get things off to a decent start. Have a safe day.
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Ludlow Cooperative Elevator Company is a farmer-owned grain cooperative in east-central Illinois serving Ford, Iroquois, and Champaign counties.
Founded in 1904 in Ludlow, Illinois, the company now has eleven locations: Alonzo, Bryce, Buckley, Danforth, Fountain Creek, Goodwine, La Hogue, Ludlow, Paxton, and Piper City, with convenient access to rail and Interstate highways.
Ludlow Cooperative Elevator Company handles grain sales and marketing of corn, soybeans, and wheat including grain storage and conditioning. The company is located in an area that enjoys some of the richest farmland in the world. Learn more about Ludlow Co-op Elevator
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