03/26/26 Afternoon CommStock Report – Hard to Know Where to Start

I am going to begin today, close to home, at the Valero ethanol plant in Hartley Iowa. A client sold cash corn there for 472 last week. They had called him looking to buy low-CI corn. He then called and asked me if he should sell and I told him to part with every bushel that he could deliver. Valero has producers calculate their carbon intensity (CI) scores and they pay qualifying producers a premium for low-CI qualifying corn. This producer uses manure so buys no commercial P/K so he has a good score. Low-carbon ethanol is demanded by some foreign buyers and they reportedly had an export sale of ethanol to the UK lined up that they needed low-CI corn to grind for. In this case I believe that the producer got a premium on the premium they typically pay for low-CI corn. A recent text from Valero read, “Super long lines…Parking lot is full”. Farmers are rushing to deliver corn as they see field work starting here soon. This region of NW IA/SW MN had several years of short crops until 2025 when we had a bin-buster. There is a lot of corn around here. Farmers sold beans…

This content is for members only.
Register

Already a member? Log in here

Futures trading involves risk. The risk of loss in trading futures and/or options is substantial and each investor and/or trader must consider whether this is a suitable investment. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Trading advice is based on information taken from trades and statistical services and other sources that CommStock Investments believes to be reliable. We do not guarantee that such information is accurate or complete and it should not be relied upon as such. Trading advice reflects our good faith judgment at a specific time and is subject to change without notice.

There is no guarantee that the advice we give will result in profitable trades.

The views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are those of the author and do not reflect those of R.J. O'Brien & Associates LLC. This report may contain political opinions as well as market opinions and commentary. Any content provided by Commstock Investments or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual or anyone or anything.