01/08/2025 Keeping the Lights On

On the Grains
Good morning: it’s one of those overnight sessions where not much has happened. Corn and Soybean futures are trading steady to 2 cents better as we await the USDA data dump on Friday and traders nervously waiting to see what January 20th looks like. With the November Trade in Goods and Services report behind us, ethanol looks to be on solid footing, as exports were at a monthly record of 187.6 million gallons, up 63% from last year. As we turned the calendar, we focused on what the prospective planting report could say at the end of March. Nov/Dec is sitting at 2.26, and many producers are frustrated with soybean yields. It’s too early to call what the second crop in Brazil will be on corn and too early to have a clue on anything here, yet if we see continued strength in December 25 corn, we will look to put some hedging strategy on. Since I am a farmer, I will go out and say that fertilizer is too high. That’s what we say, ha, but Urea prices are trending under last year and well under the 5-year average- concerning for acres next year.