CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures pulled back from session highs to close steady to slightly higher, as pressure tied to first notice day tempered gains despite ongoing supportive demand headlines. March corn futures closed unchanged at 427 ½, and May futures added ½ cent to 440 ¼.
• First notice day for March futures falls on February 27. Producers holding basis contracts may need to fix futures ahead of that date, a dynamic that can increase hedge-related selling as cash bushels are priced or delivered. March/May corn spread posted a new contract low on today’s trade at -14 cents.
• USDA Announced a flash export sale of corn on Monday morning. Columbia bought 125,000 MT () of corn for the current marketing year.
• USDA released weekly export inspections on Monday morning. For the week ending February 19, US exporters shipped 2.005 MMT (78.9 mb) of corn on the export market. Total inspections remain strong, now trending 46% above last year.
• With a slower than average Soybean harvest, planting pace for the second crop Brazil corn is also behind pace. According to Ag analyst firm, AgRural, planting of Brazil’s second corn crop reached 50% of the estimated area, compared with 64% a year earlier. If delayed planting continues, the Brazil corn crop could miss some key weather windows, which could impact final production.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans were mixed to end the day with losses in the front months and gains in new crop contracts. Prices traded in a wide range as traders decide what to make of the Supreme Court’s tariff ruling and what President Trump may do next. March futures continue to meet resistance around the $11.50 level.
• March soybeans lost 3-1/4 cents to $11.34-1/4, and the stochastics show a cross-over sell signal. November soybeans gained 2-1/4 cents to $11.17-1/4, March soybean meal lost $1.10 to $308.70, and March soybean oil gained 0.47 cents to 59.39 cents. This Friday is first notice day for March grain futures.
• Today’s export inspections report was soft for soybeans as China has not made any additional purchases from the US since President Trump tweeted that they would consider buying an additional 8 mmt of US soybeans. Inspections of 670k tons were below the low end of trade guesses and compared to 1,215k tons last week. Inspections are down 32% year over year.
• Friday’s CFTC data saw funds as buyers of soybeans as of February 17. They bought 40,463 contracts increasing their net long position to 163,611 contracts. They bought 8,726 contracts of soybean oil leaving them long 41,819 contracts and bought 12,563 contracts of meal leaving them short 1,762 contracts.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat suffered losses across the board today despite early gains, continued dryness in the US southern plains, and a lower trade for the US Dollar Index. It is likely that this was, in part, a technical correction after wheat futures had reached overbought territory. Additionally, US wheat may have become too expensive on the global marketplace – US HRW wheat export values are said to be the most costly in the world and are at a $1/bu premium to that of Russia. March Chicago lost 4 cents to 569-1/2, Kansas City fell 12-1/4 cents to 560, and MIAX slipped 5 cents to 582-1/4.
• Weekly wheat inspections totaled 19.7 mb, which was above both expectations and the 16 mb pace needed per week to reach the USDA’s goal. Year to date, total inspections stand at 670 mb, which is up 19% from last year and also ahead of the USDA’s 9% estimated year over year increase.
• The Ukrainian grain lobby has estimated that their 2026 wheat production will rise almost 3% to 23.1 mmt. Lower yields are expected to be offset by higher acreage; planted area is up 4.8% to 5.1 million hectares. For reference the USDA is forecasting Ukraine’s wheat production at 23.0 mmt.
• Friday afternoon’s CFTC Commitments of Traders report indicated that managed funds bought over 17,000 contracts of Chicago wheat in the week ended February 17, reducing their net short position by just over 20%. Additionally, they purchased nearly 9,000 contracts of Kansas City wheat during the same timeframe, which cut that net short position by over 45%. It is likely that fund buying continued through the end of last week, helping to explain the recent rally in wheat.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures were mixed today with front months finding support while deferred months were pulled lower. March futures were up 5 cents to $16.56.
• Spot cheese improved slightly, gaining 0.875 cents to $1.5025/lb. Whey fell 2.50 cents to $0.6650/lb.
• Class IV found some follow through support from last week’s strong trade. March futures were up 10 cents to $19.60.
• Spot butter lost 5.75 cents to start the week, closing at $1.8125/lb. Powder fell 4 cents to $1.6450/lb.

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Author

Brandon Doherty