Mark's Market Talk for August 10, 2026

Last week the grain markets were somewhat quiet compared to the volatility we have seen over the past several months. Corn ended the week down 2 cents, while beans were down 11 cents. Export sales for both crops were good, with China leading the bean purchases and Mexico being the big corn buyer. Bean crush margins have softened lately and are running in the mid- to upper-$2 range. That is still very profitable for the plants, just not the bonus dollars they had been seeing earlier. Ethanol production remains heavy and profitable as well.

Congress continues to have trouble getting an E15 bill to the President. The legislation was included in the Senate Farm Bill and looked like it had a good chance of getting through the Agriculture Committee, but the vote came up short. SNAP program guidelines were the big sticking point as lawmakers continue to debate the employment rules associated with the program. Farmers would readily agree that the Farm Bill and food assistance programs need to be separated. There may have been a good reason to combine them in the past, but we have outgrown that idea today. Agriculture often gets blamed for the high cost of the Farm Bill, but the biggest share of the money goes to food assistance programs.

On the market front, most grain-producing areas are seeing non-threatening weather as we enter the grain-fill period. Exceptions can be found, especially in the Northern Plains and even northwest Iowa, where moisture continues to be short. Corn harvest has begun in the Deep South and will progress north a little farther each week. Heat unit numbers are running above normal, so we should see a normal start to harvest in our area.

The August WASDE report will be released Wednesday morning. Average trade guesses on yield are coming in close to the 183 bushels for corn and 53 bushels for soybeans that the USDA used in its prior report. One concern could be if USDA adds acres. Some years they have a habit of finding more acres, which pushes production totals higher. A positive report would help us head into harvest on a better note, especially if we can put the recent lows behind us.