Latest News From Meghan Vick

Members of the National Oilseed Processors Association crushed 163.52 million bu. of soybeans during May, marking the fourth month in a row processing has fallen short of expectations.

Mid-morning update on market action.

The cooler forecast is pressuring grain and soy futures, despite some lower than expected crop condition ratings. NOPA will update the May crush today. And a truce has been reached on the U.S./EU aircraft dispute.

Hot, dry weather in the Upper Midwest and Western Corn Belt drew down corn and soybean ratings, with too much moisture slowing winter wheat harvest. Find more highlights from today's crop progress and condition update.

Condition ratings for corn, soybeans winter wheat and cotton all came in lower than expected.

USDA upped the ante this year by providing greater incentives like higher rental payments as part of the Biden administration’s all-of-government approach to tackling climate change.

Wheat inspections were near the upper end of expectations and last week’s tally was revised 75,091 MT higher versus what was initially reported. Soybean inspections, on the other hand, were even lighter than expected.

Rains for the dry Northern Plains and western Corn Belt are expected to be erratic the next two weeks, with warm temperatures likely to persist. Nevertheless, grain and soy futures are under heavy pressure.

Private analytics firm IHS Markit trimmed its 2021 U.S. corn planted acreage estimate by 310,000, dropping it to 96.54 million acres, which is still above most private forecasts.

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Delaware lawmakers are pressing EPA to ease refiners’ blending obligations. A bipartisan group of Senators delivered a new infrastructure proposal. And NCBA wants USDA to scrap "Product of the USA labels."

Find highlights from today's WASDE and Crop Production Reports, the latest from Conab and an update on drought conditions within the U.S.

Conab now estimates Brazil's total corn crop at 69.96 MMT. That compares to USDA at 98.5 MMT.

The Dakotas saw a mix of drought improvement and drought degradation, but today's update didn't fully account for this week's rains.

Cotton and wheat carryover also came in lighter than expected.

Memorial Day coincided with the reporting period, which may have limited business to some degree.

More rain is coming for the Northern Plains. Weather will share the spotlight with USDA's June S&D and Crop Production Reports. JBS announces it did pay $11 million in ransom.

Confirming ag sector fears, the EPA announced today it plans to roll back the Trump Administration's Navigable Waters Protection Rule and revise the definition of U.S. waterways that can be regulated.

Rains for the Northern Plains weigh on HRS wheat. Biden ended infrastructure talks with Capito, but is starting talks with others. Meanwhile, Vilsack says no decision has been made on swine line speeds.

Another firm dropped its Brazilian corn crop projection under 90 MMT. Meanwhile, May payrolls climbed, though the gain was short of expectations. Find more afternoon news here.

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Old-crop corn sales topped expectations, while new-crop sales were right in line with what the market expected. Exports of the grain held above 2 MMT.

The May jobs report will share the spotlight with weekly export sales today.

Argentina’s Agroindustrial Council (CAA) issued a statement today saying Argentine meat producers will continue to hold talks with the government with the goal of lifting a one-month suspension on exports of beef.

Rains have little to no impact on Northern Plains drought. Meanwhile, Biden concessions signal he still hopes a bipartisan infrastructure deal is possible.

On the High Plains, temperatures were cool and rain fell, but that did little to change drought conditions in the region.

While dairy operations are working to expand, finding millions of more cows is challenging, feed costs are high and both land and water are scarce.

Yesterday, Brazil’s Infrastructure Minister Tarcisio de Freitas said efforts to save water and direct it to power generation will inevitably disrupt navigation on the Tiete-Parana waterway.

Grain and soy futures continue to climb. Meanwhile, Brazil's ag minister is warning efforts to ensure hydroelectric power will disrupt shipping along the Parana River.

Argentine cattle producers are slated to end their halt to meat sales at midnight tonight, but the ban could be renewed and extended to grain sales.

Argentine producers could extend ban on meat sales, expand strike to grains.

As rumored, the ethanol producer POET announced Tuesday it had acquired Flint Hills Resources’ entire ethanol business.

The market is breathing a collective sigh of relief that the outage was short-lived.

Warm, dry forecast continues to lift grain and soy futures. Meanwhile, operations are resuming at JBS facilities.

Highlights from today's USDA Crop Progress and Condition Report.

Purdue University and CME Group report the Ag Economy Barometer dropped 20 points during May to a reading of 158 points, the lowest since September 2020.

JBS is the world’s largest meatpacker and it controls around 25% of all U.S. beef capacity and roughly 20% of its hog slaughter capacity.

The market was too pessimistic on USDA's initial corn crop rating.

Wheat inspections dropped notably from last week’s strong showing. Soybean inspections were lackluster, as expected.

Temperatures dipped below freezing over Memorial Day weekend in the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains, raising questions about slowed development and the possibility some replanting will be needed.

Frosts/freezes over the holiday weekend have grain and soy futures soaring to start the week.

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Andrey Sizov, head of SovEcon, says, “Spring weather conditions were favorable for the new winter wheat crop. However, there is a big question mark over the spring wheat crop now."

Harvest of China’s winter wheat crop got underway this month, which along with Chinese changes in recommended feed mixes could cool Chinese buying of corn near-term.

Grain and soy futures traded in a two-sided range overnight. Some expect the harvest of China's wheat crop to temper its voracious corn buying.

"Reports indicate much of this week’s heavy rains was immediately absorbed by the severely dry soils, with no runoff into empty dugouts or ponds," according to today's Drought Monitor Summary.

Corn futures rose sharply at midsession, with July contracts up about 34 cents and December is 24 cents higher. Both contracts have pared most of this week’s decline.

China bought a total of 5.812 MMT of corn the week ending May 20, with 5.644 MMT of those purchases being new-crop.

Argentina's port strike came to an early end. USDA hiked its ag export forecast, reminding of China's aggressive buys and the Phase 1 trade deal. USTR Tai talked with her Chinese counterpart yesterday.

Corn futures are trying to rebound mid-morning.