Mark's Market Talk for May 4, 2026

Last week brought us higher prices in both corn and beans. July corn gained 17 cents while July beans ended the week 25 cents higher. New crop prices were also higher for the week, and they are starting to look interesting.

The Strait of Hormuz is still a sticking point for shipping as the U.S. is denying entry into Iranian ports, which is shutting down part of their oil shipments. Oil has been trading on both sides of $100 per barrel, and that has pushed gas and diesel prices above $4 and $5 respectively. That in turn is starting to show up in higher prices for nearly everything consumers buy.

As farmers, we are paying for higher freight on both sides as it costs more to ship grain out and inputs in. Most businesses can pass those costs along to the consumer. We usually absorb the cost and chalk it up as another expense of doing business. Because of that, these stronger commodity prices are very welcome. However, we still need to look closely at what is driving this rally and make plans for capturing some of it.

Bean oil has been a leader in the soybean complex as higher crude oil values make vegetable oils more attractive. Crush margins at soybean plants reached record highs last week. Plants are running at full speed and, if demand for soybean meal continues, they will likely stay aggressive buyers.

Demand for U.S. corn also remains strong on both the domestic and export side. Ethanol plants are cranking out product as fast as they can. Unfortunately, the U.S. House withdrew E15 language from the Farm Bill at the last minute as big oil interests used their influence to push it aside. Lawmakers now plan to introduce a stand-alone bill around May 13.

This would be a good time to push ethanol usage as a way to reduce dependence on more expensive gasoline. To most of us in agriculture it makes perfect sense, but convincing Congress has been another story entirely.

The funds are currently long more than 200,000 contracts in both corn and soybeans. Last week they supported those positions. However, if weather allows planters to roll and tensions in the Middle East cool off, we could easily see some pullback in these markets.

We do not have “get rich quick” prices right now, but historically we only get two or maybe three solid marketing opportunities each year. This may be one of them.