Chicago Close: Crop Futures Mixed with USDA Looming

Aug 09, 2024

Crop futures ended mixed on Friday. Some covering of short positions was evident in anticipation of Monday's USDA report. However, generally favourable weather in the Midwest pushed corn and soybeans to minor losses.

Although crop-friendly weather in the US would normally hammer prices due to expectations of healthy crop yields, these markets have already fallen hard in recent weeks. As well, threatening weather conditions in major agricultural regions outside the US, including Ukraine and the EU, created choppy trading.

September corn ended down 2 1/2 cents at $3.76 3/4, and December lost 2 cents at $3.95.

September beans were 4 3/4 cents lower at $9.88 3/4 and November dropped 5 3/4 cents to $10.02 1/2.

Wheat futures were bolstered by international buying activity and concerns over global production challenges. The harvest in France has been bogged down amid excessive rain. Meanwhile, Ukraine’s crop has been ravaged by a hot, dry summer. September Chicago wheat bounced 5 cents to $5.42 1/2, September Kansas City was 2 1/2 cents higher at $5.54, and September Minneapolis recovered 4 1/2 cents to $5.89 3/4.

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Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.