Grain Markets Continue To See Strong Demand

May 05, 2021

Farmers are busy with spring seeding operations.

Over the last few weeks they've seen continued strength in the markets with increases on the futures board up by close to 21% for canola, 23% for corn and hard red spring wheat up by about 23%.

Brennan Turner, CEO of Combyne Ag says the bottom line is that we've got a really, really strong demand function right now.

'With COVID there's been supply constraints or supply chain concerns, some tighter carryouts than what I think a lot of people were expecting. Smaller crops than what we were kind of anticipating back in the fall, and all of this combined with the fact that there are some moisture concerns to start the new crop growing season. This is just amplifying prices to a level that we haven't seen. I mean for corn and soybeans, we haven't seen this prices for eight years for hard red spring wheat. We haven't seen these prices since 2017 and for canola, obviously, it's been a couple of years since canola prices have been up near the $20 a bushel."

He notes it's a combination of some weather concerns, but mostly demand right now and there's a lot weighing on the upcoming growing season.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.