News Announcements
Ludlow Coop is Offering Free Delayed Pricing on Corn & Soybean Deliveries
CORN deliveries beginning 1-14-26 are eligible for:
Delayed Pricing – FREE moisture averaged by farm ID (within a 30 day delivery period) and shrunk to 15.0% FREE DP is until 2:00 p.m. on 8-31-26, new 2026 crop rates will go into effect at that time.
CORN deliveries beginning 1-14-26 are eligible for:
Open Storage – moisture averaged by farm ID (within a 30 day delivery period) and shrunk to 14.0% charges of NO drop charge and .0012 cent per bushel per day (3.5 cents per month) thru 8-31-26, new 2026 crop rates will go into effect at that time.
BEAN deliveries beginning 1-14-26 are eligible for:
Delayed Pricing – FREE NO MOISTURE AVERAGING (within a 30 day delivery period) and shrunk to 13.0% FREE DP is until 2:00 p.m. on 8-31-26, new 2026 crop rates will go into effect at that time.
BEAN deliveries beginning 1-14-26 are eligible for:
Open Storage – NO MOISTURE AVERAGING (within a 30 day delivery period) and shrunk to 13.0% charges of NO drop charge and .0012 cent per bushel per day (3.5 cents per month) thru 8-31-26, new 2026 crop rates will go into effect at that time.
SPACE AS AVAILABLE FOR CORN & BEANS
Time to Begin Marketing for the 2026 Crop Year with the Average Pricing Program
Why Choose the Average Pricing Program?
- Build a solid base for your 2026 crop marketing plan.
- Capture seasonal highs: Historically, January through June offers the strongest pricing opportunities.
- Flexibility: Commit only 20–35% of an average crop, leaving room for additional marketing.
- Take the emotion out of pricing—a great option for landlords.
- No enrollment cost.
- Extended marketing window: Sell ahead instead of after harvest (19 months vs. 9 months).
Ludlow Coop’s Average Pricing Program
Set Weeks: February 11 – June 24, 2026
- Weekly pricing every Wednesday at noon.
- 20 weeks total; final price is the average of all weekly pricings.
- Based on December (CZ26) corn futures and November (SX26) bean futures.
- Contracts are for Fall 2026 delivery.
- Sign-up deadline: Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Contract must be signed and received before start date.
Patron’s Choice Average Pricing Contract
Your Choice of Consecutive Weeks
- Weekly pricing every Wednesday at noon.
- Choose any consecutive weeks between January 14 – August 26, 2026.
- Based on CZ26 corn futures and SX26 bean futures.
- Contracts are for Fall 2026 delivery.
Ready to Enroll?
Contact your settlement location with:
- Number of bushels
- Chosen dates (for Patron’s Choice)
- Delivery location
Ludlow Coop Offices:
- Buckley: (217) 394-2331
- Danforth: (815) 269-2390
- Ludlow: (217) 396-4111
- Piper City: (815) 707-3347
- Goodwine: (815) 457-2880
2025-2026 Board Members Elected
This is the list of the newly elected board members who will be serving for the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
Roger Gustafson (Paxton) – President
Kenny During (Rantoul)– Vice President
Robert Schmid (Buckley)– Secretary
Cory Roelfs (Rantoul)– Treasurer
Steve Glazik (Paxton)
Dan Kief (Loda)
Jeff McGehee (Onarga)
Brent Neukomm (Cissna Park)
Jim Niewold (Loda)
Mike Otto (Buckley)
Pat Quinlan (Ludlow)
2025-2026 Drying and Storage Rates
We have posted the current rates for drying and storage grain on our website.
Please visit our Crop Policy Service Rates page for Corn and Soybeans to plan for your storage and drying needs for this harvest season.
Please call the office if you have questions: 217-396-4111
The Grainery Newsletters
5/15/26 MIDCO AFTERNOON COMMENTS
5/15/26 MIDCO MORNING COMMENTS 0 CommentsComment on Facebook
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🌽 Corn Market Update
Corn futures shed length for the second consecutive day to end the week on Friday, with spot July futures crashing through last week's low and settling right on the 200-day moving average amid an ongoing exodus of stale longs in the space. Like the most recent US-China meeting last fall, there were again rumors that surfaced this week of a potential deal involving purchases of US corn and DDGs, but they again never came to fruition. Yes, the fundamental/economic situation in China could warrant Beijing taking more US corn, but amid a larger trade standoff between them and President Trump and what seems to be quite a bit of confusion still around the soybean deal, we just continue to see the odds that this happens at any sort of scale as being unlikely. With that said, focus into next week and the back half of month seemingly returns to the Middle East, with the situation there ongoing and the Strait of Hormuz still shuttered.
🌱 Soybean Market Update
The soy complex finished the week mixed on Friday, with the products mostly higher while the beans capped what has been a two-day slide of more than 50 cents in the July contract. Like we said at the top, there's not a lot else to it besides the fact that there were spec/fund traders who had been long the market on ideas that a deal would be made and once they realized this wasn't going to be the case, they headed for the exits. Whether the selling carries into next week becomes the question now, as from a technical standpoint, spot futures are quickly back to the bottom end of the sideways trading range that was seen for much of March and April. Should futures fall another 20 cents next week and make new lows, we would assume there would be little stopping them from falling further to go test the 2026 lows. If the fund bulls are going to stick around, they are going to need to be fed, and at some point, it's going to need to be by something other than crush margins and biofuel demand.
🌾 Wheat Market Update
Though the beans got all the headlines, wheat futures led the day's selling from a percentage standpoint, as they have now wiped out all of the WASDE day crop loss rally and then some. Though the China headlines have obviously produced headwinds across the whole of the space, we are actually a bit surprised at the sheer size of the selling in the wheat market the back half of this week amid how quickly the sky was seemingly falling just three days ago on Tuesday. The Black Sea region has continued to deal with excessive moisture through a lot of the spring planting season which is likely going to lead to acreage reductions, and there also expected to be sizeable new crop production reductions from last year in both Australia and Argentina; production issues don't end with the US, and we would think this would come back to be supportive for futures at some point.
... See MoreSee Less
Good morning. After a brief attempt at higher levels last night, the ag markets have resumed their retreat this morning. The U.S./China summit is over and there does not appear to be in major victories declared for the U.S. in this trip. Promises of more trade deals are being touted but details are lacking. U.S. Trade Rep. Greer commented that China would commit to billions of American ag purchases but was unclear if that included previous expected commitments and/or what all commodities were included. A portion of the bean trade was expecting hard data on additional business, and it did not get it. We discussed earlier in the week about the risk of the news this week when combined with a very large fund net long. That net long is liquidating a portion of the length as the combo of the crop report, the China visit, the E15 vote, and the weather forecast all failed to support a continued theme of buying corn and beans right now. The charts look to be showing near term tops for now, barring any surprise change in trade deals or the weather. A few rain showers moved through the Midwest this morning with another 3 tenths seen here in Bloomington. Temps will warm sharply this weekend, but more rain will be in the mix as well. Seeing a few more showers possible into the dry areas of KY and TN. NOPA crush for April will be out this morning. Estimates are for crush to be at 214 mbu. This would be a record for April, but down from the March number. A few maintenance issues and one less crush day are being blamed for the slower crush pace last month. The commitment of traders’ report is out this afternoon, but it won’t reflect yesterday’s selling. Reminder that Friday’s COT data is through the previous Tuesday. Crude is up $3.00 as there is still no resolution in place to ease the Strait closing. It didn’t appear that China was a big help on a solution. July corn and beans traded below the 50-day moving averages overnight, which just aids the pressure. Producer selling has dried up on the sell-off and likely remains that way. Still a lot of weather to go and the quick move to El Nino may create some weather volatility this summer. Have a safe weekend.
... See MoreSee Less
News Announcements
5/15/26 MIDCO AFTERNOON COMMENTS
🌽 Corn Market Update
Corn futures shed length for the second consecutive day to end the week on Friday, with spot July futures crashing through last week's low and settling right on the 200-day moving average amid an ongoing exodus of stale longs in the space. Like the most recent US-China meeting last fall, there were again rumors that surfaced this week of a potential deal involving purchases of US corn and DDGs, but they again never came to fruition. Yes, the fundamental/economic situation in China could warrant Beijing taking more US corn, but amid a larger trade standoff between them and President Trump and what seems to be quite a bit of confusion still around the soybean deal, we just continue to see the odds that this happens at any sort of scale as being unlikely. With that said, focus into next week and the back half of month seemingly returns to the Middle East, with the situation there ongoing and the Strait of Hormuz still shuttered.
🌱 Soybean Market Update
The soy complex finished the week mixed on Friday, with the products mostly higher while the beans capped what has been a two-day slide of more than 50 cents in the July contract. Like we said at the top, there's not a lot else to it besides the fact that there were spec/fund traders who had been long the market on ideas that a deal would be made and once they realized this wasn't going to be the case, they headed for the exits. Whether the selling carries into next week becomes the question now, as from a technical standpoint, spot futures are quickly back to the bottom end of the sideways trading range that was seen for much of March and April. Should futures fall another 20 cents next week and make new lows, we would assume there would be little stopping them from falling further to go test the 2026 lows. If the fund bulls are going to stick around, they are going to need to be fed, and at some point, it's going to need to be by something other than crush margins and biofuel demand.
🌾 Wheat Market Update
Though the beans got all the headlines, wheat futures led the day's selling from a percentage standpoint, as they have now wiped out all of the WASDE day crop loss rally and then some. Though the China headlines have obviously produced headwinds across the whole of the space, we are actually a bit surprised at the sheer size of the selling in the wheat market the back half of this week amid how quickly the sky was seemingly falling just three days ago on Tuesday. The Black Sea region has continued to deal with excessive moisture through a lot of the spring planting season which is likely going to lead to acreage reductions, and there also expected to be sizeable new crop production reductions from last year in both Australia and Argentina; production issues don't end with the US, and we would think this would come back to be supportive for futures at some point.
... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
5/15/26 MIDCO MORNING COMMENTS
Good morning. After a brief attempt at higher levels last night, the ag markets have resumed their retreat this morning. The U.S./China summit is over and there does not appear to be in major victories declared for the U.S. in this trip. Promises of more trade deals are being touted but details are lacking. U.S. Trade Rep. Greer commented that China would commit to billions of American ag purchases but was unclear if that included previous expected commitments and/or what all commodities were included. A portion of the bean trade was expecting hard data on additional business, and it did not get it. We discussed earlier in the week about the risk of the news this week when combined with a very large fund net long. That net long is liquidating a portion of the length as the combo of the crop report, the China visit, the E15 vote, and the weather forecast all failed to support a continued theme of buying corn and beans right now. The charts look to be showing near term tops for now, barring any surprise change in trade deals or the weather. A few rain showers moved through the Midwest this morning with another 3 tenths seen here in Bloomington. Temps will warm sharply this weekend, but more rain will be in the mix as well. Seeing a few more showers possible into the dry areas of KY and TN. NOPA crush for April will be out this morning. Estimates are for crush to be at 214 mbu. This would be a record for April, but down from the March number. A few maintenance issues and one less crush day are being blamed for the slower crush pace last month. The commitment of traders’ report is out this afternoon, but it won’t reflect yesterday’s selling. Reminder that Friday’s COT data is through the previous Tuesday. Crude is up $3.00 as there is still no resolution in place to ease the Strait closing. It didn’t appear that China was a big help on a solution. July corn and beans traded below the 50-day moving averages overnight, which just aids the pressure. Producer selling has dried up on the sell-off and likely remains that way. Still a lot of weather to go and the quick move to El Nino may create some weather volatility this summer. Have a safe weekend.
... See MoreSee Less
0 CommentsComment on Facebook
0 CommentsComment on Facebook