Morning Markets: Corn: +4 old & +2.25 new.
Beans: +5.75 old & +3.50 new. Wheat: +12.50.
PLEASE JOIN US NEXT WEEK FOR OUR 2026 FOCUS MEETINGS!!
Tuesday, March 3rd at the Knights of Columbus in Lincoln with breakfast at 8:00am and meeting to follow.
Tuesday, March 3rd at the Monticello Community Building in Monticello with lunch at 12:00pm and meeting to follow.
Topflight Grain is offering Free PL on soybeans to all full-time locations except Maroa based on space availability good through August 31, 2026.
We are also offering Free PL on corn delivered to Pierson and Milmine based on space availability good through August 31, 2026.
MARKET SUMMARY:
Good morning. Happy Friday. Overnight trade has been steady/higher to begin wrapping up the week, with wheat futures pacing the gains and scoring new highs for the move, while the soy complex and corn are hovering just below yesterday's highs. Crude oil futures are also notably higher this morning, and it appears geopolitics could again be the main driver of commodity markets as we head into the weekend. Corn futures this morning are trading 2-3 cents higher, soybean futures are trading 2-4 cents higher, and the Chicago wheat market is trading 10-15 cents higher.
Crude Oil is up $2.41 at $67.62
US Dollar is up at $97.80
Dow futures are down 523 points at 49,008
WEATHER:
- Save for some light snows across the upper Midwest, weekend weather across most of the region will be rather mild, with limited precip and temperatures that are well above normal expected for most of the area. Things change though quickly into next week, as models see a large storm system working across the central part of the region, providing snow/rain/ice to an area from KS/MO east through IL/IN/KY/TN Sunday night into Monday. High pressure in the southeast and ongoing flow from the southwest then keeps this corridor through the first half of the week next week, with rains expected to continue through most of the week and into the following weekend.
- Today, the EU model has precip totals ranging from a half inch to upwards of 6-7" for an area that covers most of the eastern half of the US. There will be a pocket in NC/VA that appears it could miss out on this moisture, but otherwise, much of the Midwest and Corn Belt looks to see significant boosts in soil moisture over the next 10 days.
- Weekend weather across South America looks to feature ongoing dryness across the southern third of Brazil, while regular rains continue to the north of here through the next 48 hours and into next week. Forecasts are drier into the end of next week for more of the central part of the country but are still wet through the north. Meanwhile for Argentina, light rains are expected to resume the next couple days, with more widespread coverage then expected through the first half of the week next week.
OTHER HEADLINES:
- According to the CME Group, there were 138 contracts of March soybeans assigned for delivery on First Notice Day, as well as 102 contracts of soybean meal, 340 contracts of soybean oil, 9 contracts of corn, and 445 contracts of rough rice.
- The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange's weekly crop update this week showed no production updates for either the corn or soybean crops, but did show corn harvest had started. Progress was seen at 3.6% complete, which is slightly behind last year but still ahead of average. Corn moisture conditions also improved nearly 7% on the week. For beans, the amount of crop rated in the poor category increased 4% on the week from 25% to 29%, though the figure still remains lower than last year.
- La Nacion, citing cash sources familiar with the situation, reported on Thursday that Argentine exporters had sold around 40,000 tons of wheat to a buyer in Tampa Bay, FL, with the cargoes said to be priced around $210-$220/ton. Traders mentioned there's risk of the cargoes being canceled or washed out if price dynamics shift in the short term.
- Speaking at the annual Commodity Classic convention in San Antonio, TX, US Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Thursday that the Trump admin has gone as far as they can to provide emergency E15 waivers, but that it’s now up to Congress to "do its job" and pass legislation expanding the ability to sell the fuel blend year-round. Rollins added that the government was doing what it could to lower input costs, which have been a major farmer concern the last few seasons and again going into this year.
- China's government said on Friday that it would be suspending tariffs on Canadian imports of rapeseed (canola) meal and several other ag products through the end of the calendar year beginning on March 1, in a sign that trade tensions between the two sides have continued to thaw following in person talks between Canadian PM Mark Carney and President Xi earlier in January. Carney previously mentioned that tariffs on canola itself would be dropped to 15% on March 1 also, but there was no mention of this by the Chinese announcement released today.
- Along similar lines, Carney will be India this weekend and into next week for trade meetings with the world's most populous country, as he continues to seek diversification in his country's trade routes amid ongoing hostilities with the US and road bumps with the broader USMCA trade agreement.
- Weekly barge data from the USDA showed shipments down the Mississippi River in the week ending February 21 at 500k tons, which was up just under 6% from the week prior; corn shipments at 259k tons were up 6%, and soybean shipments at 222k tons were down less than 1%. STL barge freight rates were quoted at $24.74/short ton, which was down 16 cents on the week.
EXPORT NEWS:
- Private exporters reported sales of 257,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2025/2026 marketing year.
Be careful!
Bailey Runyen
Grain Originator | Topflight Grain Coop.
101 N. Main St. | Cisco, IL 61830
Phone :: 217-669-2141
Email :: brunyen@tfgrain.com
