Grain Gleanings

Check Your Grain Bins

By Rebecca Johnson, Elevator Location Manager, Salem

Wow where did 2024 go? As I reflect on 2024, I want to thank our customers for their patronage and look forward to working with you in 2025.

We have been blessed with mild temperatures, a little bit of rain and just a dusting of snow so far this fall and winter.  With all the fog though we have had we will have to see if the old wives’ tale holds true for a lot of precipitation in March.

The grains closed strong on 12/31/2024 with corn futures off the March @ 4.59 and soybean futures off the March @ 10.11.  Thursday the grains opened down a little. We will have to see what influences the grains going forward.  A few things that may affect the markets are weather in South America, the inauguration, threat of war, Tariff implementations or lack of, and inflation/recession, just to name a few.

If you are contemplating what to do marketing wise with your grain either on delayed pricing in the elevator or sitting in your bins, please reach out to one of our grain originators. We have several marketing options to choose from.

For those that still have grain on the farm, if you have not checked your bins since harvest it is a good idea to check and make sure that it is still in good condition and that all your doors on your bins are closed tightly especially on top of your bins.  It is also a good idea to take a few loads out of each bin just to get the tops off in case there is moisture on the top.

Wishing all a Healthy and Happy New Year!

1/3/2025

A Gift

By Hunter Behrens, Grain Originator, Lyons

Hopefully everyone enjoyed the holidays with family and friends. The day after Christmas the commodity market received a gift with corn finishing a nickel higher and beans up 16 cents. Some Ag Fundamentals, export Sales will be released due to the US holiday, estimates below. March corn closed above the 200-day moving average with May futures closing above 4.60. Corn has experienced the more bullish headlines than other row crops with strong exports, solid ethanol production, and the potential for production cuts in both the US and Argentina. US corn yield estimates could pull back from the 183.1 bu/acre November/December WASDE estimates. Dryer than normal weather in Argentina could drop their corn production below 50 MMT depending on the next 30 days of rain. Soybean meal up $13/ton on the news of less than perfect weather in Argentina. Argentina is the world’s largest meal exporter, and any news of a production loss would merit a meal rally. The 40% of old crop beans that the US farmer still needs to sell could keep a cap on the basis value hikes the processors could introduce after this 2-week, $25/ton meal rally. March corn could find some support after it closes above the 200-day moving average after 3 separate rejections. If we continue to hear solid corn demand, and possibly the lowering of US corn production in the January WASDE, corn now on a golden cross, watch in the coming month. 

12/27/2024

'Tis the Season

By Jeff Moritz, Lead Grain Merchandiser

The grain markets didn’t seem to be much in the Christmas Spirit this week as Corn lost about 3 cents and Soybeans gave away about 32 cents. In fact it seems that the markets want to engage in the Season of Festivus. For those that aren’t fans of the Classic Sitcom Seinfeld, Festivus was a holiday featured in an episode during the Christmas Season. Festivus is a secular holiday, an alternative to the pressures and commercialization of the Christmas season. One of the traditions during Festivus is the ‘Airing of Grievances.’ As George Costanza’s father blurted at the Supper table, “I have a lot of problems with you people and you’re gonna hear about it.”

In this case it is the grain markets with which I am taking issue and the ways they have disappointed as of late especially Soybeans. Negative headlines permeated the trade as Guidance on 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit continues to be delayed. Trade is concerned that soy crush margins could be impacted negatively if the US Treasury fails to issue regulations on biodiesel as the credit expires by the end of the year. The trade is putting more focus on a Brazil Soybean crop that looks like it could be near 170MMT or more of production. However, Soybeans are oversold short term on the charts and could be poised for a bit of a recovery soon. However, take advantage of opportunities to market any unpriced soybeans on decent price strength or rallies.

Corn on the other hand has shown ‘Feats of Strength’ this week (Another Festivus Term) even as Soybeans disappointed. Corn’s demand story is keeping it in good spirits and supported price wise. Like soybeans it could use guidance on 45Z legislation to keep demand well supported going forward. Corn used for Ethanol Production is still running slightly above the USDA’s newly increased estimate in the December WASDE Report. Export Shipments remained strong this week and on a better pace need to achieve the USDA estimate in the December WASDE Report. The Corn market, however, could be held back from much of a rally above $4.55- $4.65 March futures, without getting some assistance from the soybean market. That price level seems like a good target to market additional corn bushels for the moment.

in other news this week, US legislators wrestled this week with passing a stop gap spending Bill in an effort to keep the Government Open. Included in the Bill is the Farm Act which is a temporary extension of the current Farm Bill while new Farm Bill legislation awaits passage. There is a provision for $10 billion in economic assistance for eligible producers. Details on how those payments will be distributed will be announced at a later date.

If you want to discuss marketing plans or just ‘Air Your Grievances’ with the grain markets, please reach out to your local CFC originator and they would be happy to have a conversation. As always, we genuinely appreciate your consideration in doing business with CFC and wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/20/2024

Central Farmers has a mobile app that provides real time account information at your hands. By partnering with barchart, we are able to empower you, our producers, to make informed and quicker business decisions with CFC. With our app you can:

• Access scale tickets virtually in real time, allowing you to know how many bushels you have delivered and how much still needs to be delivered. You are able to see the grade factors on each scale ticket such as Moisture and Test Weight.
• Access your contracts that you have with any CFC location. You will be able to see the status of any contract to find out whether it is filled or is still open.
• Access real-time bushel balances of your grain across all CFC locations.
• Access delayed cash bids for all of our CFC locations

You can find our App on Google Play for Android devices or the App Store for iPhones by searching for Central Farmers. Scan the QR code below for quicker download process. Download it today!