CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Corn futures faded from session highs as December corn failed to close above the July high near $4.92, triggering some technical selling. Weakness in nearby wheat futures added further pressure to the corn market during the session. September corn lost 1 ¾ cents to 463 ¼, and December corn slipped 1 ½ cents to 488.
• Monday’s USDA Crop Progress report showed corn condition ratings declined 1 percentage point to 60% good to excellent, in line with market expectations. Ratings are now 2 percentage points below the five-year average and 11 percentage points below last year.
• Pro Farmer started its annual crop tour on Monday and reported tour results for Ohio and South Dakota. In South Dakota, tour results saw a yield of 149.09 bu/a. This was well below last year and the 3-year average for those stops. For Ohio, Tour stops averaged a yield of 180.8 bu/a. This was below last year and the 3-year average. The tour will be reporting results for Nebraska and Indiana on Tuesday night.
• Strong late-season demand pushed weekly corn export inspections to multi-year highs. As of August 13, 2025/26 corn inspections have reached 3.187 billion bushels, up 26% from last year. The strong export pace could lead the USDA to raise its export forecast in the September WASDE report.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans were mixed to end the day with a slight loss in the front month and gains in deferred contracts, but prices fell sharply from their highs earlier in the day. Overall support came from another drop in crop conditions by 1 point good to excellent to 61%. The Pro Farmer crop tour showed lower pod counts in Ohio and South Dakota, and Chinese buying interest has been a large factor in this rally as well.
• September soybeans lost ¼ cent to $12.00-3/4 while November soybeans gained ¾ cent to $12.16-3/4, but at one point they were up as much as 15-1/4 cents. The sharp rally may have incited some short term profit taking by the funds. September soybean meal gained $0.90 to $313.00 while soybean oil lost 1.75 cents to 69.69 cents despite higher crude oil prices.
• The Pro Farmer Crop Tour found pod counts in Ohio at 1197.25 per 3×3 plot which compared to 1287.28 last year. In South Dakota, pod counts were 945.98 which compared to 1188.45 last year. Better yields are expected in the eastern states, but excessive rain could cause more problems.
• Yesterday’s export inspections report was poor for soybeans at just 270k tons which compared to 409.5k last week and 502.8k tons a year ago at this time. Total inspections are down 18.2% year over year. Top destinations were Japan, Egypt, and Mexico.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat futures faded from overnight highs, with winter wheat contracts posting double-digit losses. Spring wheat managed to close slightly higher, potentially supported by reports of disease and fungal issues affecting Canadian wheat crops. In the September contract Chicago lost 10-1/4 cents to 664-1/2, Kansas City dropped 15 cents to 743-3/4, and MIAX was up 1-1/4 cents at 676-1/4.
• According to the USDA, winter wheat harvest advanced 5% to 96% complete as of August 16. This is ahead of last year’s 93% pace, as well as the 94% five-year average. As for spring wheat, conditions improved 1% from last week to 52% good to excellent (which is also 2% above last year’s rating at this time). Furthermore, harvest jumped 17% on the week to 41% complete. This compares with a 33% pace last year, and 34% on average.
• The Ukrainian grain harvest has reached 56% complete, with 6.6 million hectares being harvested so far. The amount of grain collected so far is said to total 30.8 mmt, and of that, wheat accounts for 23.8 mmt. By the end of harvest, they expected to collect about 60 mmt of grain in total.
• According to a German farm association estimate, their nation’s wheat harvest will total 20.9 mmt. If realized, this would be a 7% year on year decline.
• IKAR has reported that Russia’s wheat export values ended last week at $215/mt FOB, which is a decline of $5 from the week before. Additionally, freight rates are estimated to have jumped $10/mt on the week. All of this is being blamed on the shutdown of major grain export terminals after Ukrainian drone attacks.
• Chinese customs data indicates that during the month of July, their wheat and wheat flour imports totaled only 180,000 mt, which is down 56% year over year. However, the year to date total reached 3.27 mmt, which is up 37.7% year over year.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III milk futures found some support after today’s GDT trade. September futures gained 4 cents to close at $17.30.
• Spot cheese fell a penny to $1.57125/lb while whey was once again unchanged at $0.6950/lb.
• Class IV milk futures got a boost thanks to powder continuing to rally. September futures rose 3 cents to close at $19.15.
• Spot butter dropped 1.25 cents to $1.46/lb. Powder was up for an eighth straight day, improving 2.75 cents to go home at $1.78/lb.

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Author

Brandon Doherty