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.

Click here to see more...

Video: Democratizing Gene Editing - Pairwise’s Vision for the Future of Agriculture

Pairwise has built its business around an idea that runs counter to how many companies approach innovation: make transformative technology easier to access.

In this Seed World interview, CEO Tom Adams discusses why broader access to gene editing could speed crop improvement, expand innovation opportunities and help agriculture address emerging challenges. He explains why Pairwise believes no single company can solve all of agriculture's problems alone—and why making advanced breeding technologies available to more organizations could accelerate progress across the industry.

The conversation explores how consumer trust influences technology adoption, why innovations like pitless cherries and seedless blackberries matter beyond convenience, and how future crop improvements could help address labor shortages, automation, harvest efficiency and other production challenges. Adams also shares his perspective on what the industry may be underestimating about the next wave of gene editing innovation.

Watch the full interview to hear why Pairwise believes agriculture is approaching an important inflection point for gene editing, and why the pace of innovation over the next decade could surprise the industry.

Topics Covered:

o Democratizing agricultural innovation

o Consumer trust and technology adoption

o The business case for sharing innovation

o Expanding innovation beyond major crops

o Next-generation breeding technologies