CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures traded lower on Wednesday, weighed down by broad market weakness and additional pressure from declines in soybean and wheat futures. Prices tested support but are still in a near-term uptrend. December corn lost 5 cents to 418 and March slipped 4 ¾ cents to 436.
• Markets in general, commodities and Equity markets were under pressure on Wednesday. Economic concerns, the impact of tariffs, and a weaker than expected labor market report helped cause a risk off mentality across multiple markets during the session.
• The next USDA WASDE report and crop production estimates are on September 12. The market will start seeing private analyst groups make their predictions for the corn crop on that report. One private analyst group forecasted the September corn yield at 187.52 bu/a. This is down from the USDA projection of 188.8 bu/a from the August report.
• Demand remains a key factor for corn prices this fall. Recent price gains have narrowed the strong advantage U.S. corn held over South American supplies. Additionally, the USDA has not reported any flash sales of corn exports since August 22.
• Brazil is growing its ethanol industry and increasing their domestic demand for corn. The growth will shift more bushels away from export demand for the use of Brazilian bushels, allowing stronger opportunities for U.S. corn exports.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day lower for the second consecutive day as concerns over lack of a Chinese trade deal weigh on markets. November soybeans lost 9-1/2 cents to $10.31-1/2 and March lost 9-1/4 cents to $10.65-3/4. October soybean meal lost $0.70 to $277.60 and October bean oil lost 0.82 cents to 51.44 cents.
• This morning, private exporters reported sales of 185,000 metric tons of soybean cake and meal for delivery to the Philippines during the 2025/2026 marketing year. This is encouraging, considering the large volume of soybeans being crushed has resulted in a surplus of meal.
• Soybean crop ratings fell more than expected from last week, dropping 4 points to 65% good to excellent. 94% of the crop is setting pods and 11% is dropping leaves. The USDA will release the September WASDE report next Friday and will reveal if changes are made to yield expectations.
• U.S. soybean crushings were seen at 204.8 million bushels in July which was up 5.9% from the same period last year and above June crushings of 196.9 mb. This strong domestic demand should be supportive relative to slow export demand.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat closed lower in tandem with corn and soybean futures. Chicago led the way down, with the December contract losing 6-1/4 cents to 522. Meanwhile, December Kansas City lost only 1 cent at 510-1/4 and December Minneapolis was down 1-1/4 cents to 573. It was a generally risk-off day amid a lack of fresh news, as the lower trade came despite a weaker U.S. Dollar Index and mostly higher Matif wheat prices.
• According to yesterday’s USDA Crop Progress report, the spring wheat crop is 72% harvested as of August 31. This is up 19% from last week and up 5% from the same time last year. This is also 1% ahead of the five-year average.
• German 2025 all wheat production is expected to increase by 15% to 44.73 mmt. Winter wheat production specifically is expected to rise by 26% to 22.45 mmt, accounting for roughly half of their total wheat harvest.
• Russian wheat export values are said to remain relatively steady around $230-$232 per mt on a FOB basis. However, demand may be lacking – Russian July and August shipments totaled 6.1 mmt, which falls well under the 9.9 mmt exported during that time last year.
• SovEcon raised their estimate of Russian 25/26 wheat exports by 0.4 mmt to 43.7 mmt. This is said to be due to improved crop prospects and production potential. However, they are reportedly cautious about further increases due to the slow start of exports so far.
• According to the European Commission, EU soft wheat exports as of August 31 totaled 2.57 mmt; the export season began on July 1. This represents about a 44% decline from the 4.6 mmt shipped during the same timeframe last year. The top importer of EU wheat was Saudia Arabia at 380,000 mt, followed by smaller amounts from Morocco and the UK.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures continue to slide, with September closing down 13 cents at $17.80.
• Both spot cheese and spot whey were unchanged today, closing at $1.7725/lb and $0.5700/lb, respectively.
• Following the downward trend, Class IV futures fell 20 cents in the September contract to settle at $17.05.
• Spot butter also remained unchanged at $2.0125/lb. Spot Powder was the only spot market to change, losing 2.5 cents to close at $1.2350/lb.

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Author

Amanda Brill