Mark's Market Talk

Last week’s quiet grain markets will make this report somewhat short as fresh news has been very slow. Corn and beans both ended last week within a penny of where they started. Harvest is starting to ramp up, but there still is not enough yield data to give the trade a true picture of this year’s crop. Most of the Iowa reports we have heard appear to be better yields than expected, but some Illinois areas have come in below expectations. A week ago some in the trade was raising their US corn yield, this week there was talk of lowering it. With social media giving the world instant reporting everything can turn on a dime as producers post yield results. Facebook has become the coffee shop of the past for many who want to know what is happening right away. This has opened the farm community information gate to the world. Fund traders are always looking for an edge. In order to be successful in grain trading you need to be a leader and not a follower. So, this quick form of information has become valuable to many traders and now carries as much weight as a USDA report. Some farmers who are hesitant to reply to a government survey will lay it all out on their Facebook account or a U Tube video. Our world is changing fast, and the flow of information continues to amaze all of us. Heading into this week we should see the harvest pace hit full stride as warm weather has sped this crop along. A lot of corn is now below 20% moisture, and it is dropping fast. The early season beans have been cut and guys are starting on mid- season varieties. If the dry weather holds, we could see a fast and furious harvest. Fortunately, our storage facilities started the season about as empty as they have been for years, so we are ready to handle the rapid influx of grain. Give us a call if you need marketing assistance or are looking for a place to dump some grain.