Key Points
• CoBank data shows farmers sold soybeans aggressively in fall 2025 while delaying the pricing of corn and wheat.
• Commercial ownership of soybeans increased sharply, and use of delayed pricing and basis contracts for soybeans decreased as prices improved after the U.S.-China trade truce.
• Corn and wheat saw the opposite trend. Farmers increased use of delayed pricing and basis contracts for corn and wheat, leaving pricing open in hopes of future market recoveries.
• Off-farm grain storage hit record levels in fall 2025 as farmers shifted more soybeans and wheat into off-farm commercial storage to free on-farm space for the record corn harvest.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture data showed record Dec. 1 stocks for corn, soybeans and wheat. Soybeans and wheat saw notable increases in the share of off-farm storage, but corn’s off-farm share declined.
Farmers were aggressive sellers of soybeans in fall 2025 but were more reluctant to market corn and wheat, according to CoBank’s collateral monitoring reports of grain-company customers as of Nov. 30, 2025.
Company ownership of soybeans in commercial storage jumped to 73.6 percent as of Nov. 30, an increase from 66.3 percent the year prior as farmers sold soybeans at a faster pace. The share of soybean bushels in commercial storage that were enrolled in delayed-pricing programs and basis contracts also decreased this past fall as farmers priced soybeans during the market rally following the trade truce between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Click here to see more...