CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures held support but finished lower on the session. News of Argentina export tax cut was balanced by good export demand, helping corn finish with mild loses. December corn finished 2 ¼ cents lower to 421 ¾, and March corn lost 2 ½ cents to 438 ¾.
• Argentina announced that they would be lowering export taxes for corn and soybean exports to “0” until October 31 on Monday morning. The current export tax for corn was at 9.5%. The reduced export tax makes Argentina corn more competitive with US corn on the export market.
• Weekly export inspections for corn were within expectations. For the week ending September 18, USDA exporters shipped 1.328 MMT (52.3 mb) of corn. Total inspections for 2025-26 marketing year are now at 137.5 mb, up 59% from the previous year.
• USDA announced another flash sale of corn on Monday morning. The USDA reported that Mexico purchased 320,068 MT (12.6 mb) of corn for the current marketing year. This was the fourth reported sale of US corn in the past seven days.
• Corn harvest is expected to push to 13% complete, up 6% from last week on the weekly crop progress report. Recent rainfalls should limit harvest progress early in the week in some areas. The southern corn belt is concerned about heavy rainfall, which could impact crop quality.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the day sharply lower after Argentina announced it would cut taxes on grain exports. November soybeans lost 14-1/2 cents to $10.11 while March lost 13-3/4 cents to $10.47. Both contracts are now below all major moving averages. October soybean meal lost $4.00 to $278.90 and October bean oil lost 0.86 cents to 49.17 cents.
• Argentina announced a reduction in their soybean and corn export taxes to “0” until October 31. The current export tax for soybeans was at 26% and soybean oil and meal at 24.5%. The reduction of the export tax moves Argentina soybean and product into a more competitive price level with U.S. soybeans.
• Demand concerns remain as recent trade negotiations with China were disheartening to the soybean market due to little progress on soybean exports. The reduced export taxes by Argentina may allow China to cover more needs for Nov-Dec, an area US exporter were hoping to tap into.
• Weekly soybean export inspections were within expectations on Monday.  For the week ending September 18, U.S. exporters shipped 484,00MT (17.8 mb) of soybeans. U.S. soybean export shipments typically peak in mid to late October for U.S. Soybean exports.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat posted double digit losses for Chicago futures, with the December contract down 11-3/4 cents to 510-3/4. Dec Kansas City lost 5 cents to 502-1/4 and MIAX closed 3-1/2 cents lower at 564. The grain complex was largely pressured by news that Argentina has eliminated their export taxes on all grains through October 31, or until income reaches the equivalent of $7 billion. The wheat export duty was previously 9.5%.
• Weekly wheat inspections amounted to 31.4 mb, coming in above expectations. This brings the total 25/26 inspections to 320.1 mb, up 13% from last year. Inspections are running above the USDA’s estimated pace. Total 25/26 wheat exports are forecasted at 900 mb, up 9% from the year prior.
• According to IKAR, Russian wheat export values increased $3 last week to $228/mt. There are rumors that IKAR may raise their estimate of the Russian wheat crop to 88 mmt on good yields. SovEcon is forecasting Russia’s September wheat exports will reach 4.2 mmt.
• The Rosario Grains Exchange has estimated that Argentina’s 25/26 grain exports could be a record 105.1 mmt. The previous high was 104.1 mmt in the 18/19 season. Due to lower grain prices, they project that income would be steady with last season at $34.8 billion.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III and IV milk futures were steadily lower on Monday as last week’s strength in the spot trade wasn’t able to hold.
• Spot cheese blocks fell 4c lower to $1.61/lb while butter lost 5c to $1.70/lb. Futures reacted poorly to the strong offering.
• Q4 2025 Class IV milk hit new contract lows during today’s session.
• The USDA said after the market closed that milk production in August was up 3.20%.
• The US added yet another 10,000 milking cows from July to August, as cow numbers now move up to 9.520 million head.

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Author

John Heinberg