GRAIN CALLS
Corn: 2 to 6 cents higher
Soybeans: 4 to 8 cents higher
Wheat: Winter wheat 8 to 12 cents higher, HRS 4 to 8 cents higher
GENERAL COMMENTS: Strength returned to the grains overnight after mostly sideways to slightly lower trade on Thursday. Wheat continues to act as a leader as Black Sea developments keep volatility high. Corn will work to challenge the recent high set on Wednesday, and soybeans look to establish a fledgling price uptrend. The U.S. dollar index is roughly 40 points lower at 99.60, and West Texas crude futures are 20 cents higher at $81.45.
USDA reported a flash sale of 136,000 metric tons of soybeans for delivery to China during the 2026/2027 marketing year.
Tyson Foods “is making strategic changes to its beef operations to position the company for long-term success,” said a company press release Thursday. “Tyson Foods will anchor its beef business around three strategically located beef facilities in the central United States: Dakota City, Nebraska; Holcomb, Kansas and Amarillo, Texas, to create a more competitive footprint amidst one of the most historic cattle shortages the country has ever experienced. Recent USDA cattle inventory data, which included continued evidence of limited heifer retention, indicates these supply constraints are likely to persist, requiring strategic action. The company will end operations at its Joslin, Illinois, beef facility and its Eagle Mountain, Utah, case-ready facility…. Additionally, Tyson Foods is pursuing the sale of its Pasco, Washington, beef facility. With these changes, the company will ramp back up a second shift at its Amarillo, Texas, facility as cattle become available,” said the press release.
“Parched soil and scorching heat are threatening Europe’s fall planting season, heightening risks to global food supplies stretched by geopolitical tensions,” said a Bloomberg report Friday. “The multiple heat waves that have battered Europe this summer have already upended harvests and disrupted critical grain transport routes. Now, as dry weather persists, concern is turning to next year’s crop, with some farmers already delaying sowing or reconsidering how much land to plant,” said the report. “We should be planting our winter forage for sheep, but we’re holding off until we’ve had some meaningful rain,” said James Mills, who grows wheat, barley, oats and beans in Yorkshire, England. For wheat, the planting starts in mid-September, “but the land is so unbelievably dry that we probably need an inch or two of rain to make a difference.”
Reuters on Thursday reported Ukraine had sent Russia an offer suggesting they both halt attacks on civilian targets in the Black Sea. The offer to suspend attacks was transmitted by Kyiv via a third party, and Ukraine was still waiting for a response, the report said, citing a source familiar with the matter. The Reuters report noted that Kyiv was forced to turn to alternative shipment routes when many shipowners halted stops at ports in late July in the southern region of Odesa, a key grain-export hub, after Russia targeted ships in the region. Russia had to suspend operations at all three terminals at Novorossiysk on Wednesday and Thursday after a Ukrainian attack and will have to cut its grain exports further.
CORN: December corn futures worked to recoup most of yesterday’s losses overnight. Support for corn is layered tightly in the form of the 10- and 40-day moving averages at $4.70 and $4.66 1/2 respectively. Resistance stands at Wednesday’s close of $4.80 3/4, with the next resistance the late July high of $4.92.
SOYBEANS: November soybean futures are higher off spillover strength in other grains. First support today is at the 40-day moving average of $11.85 1/4, then the 100-day moving average of $11.69. Resistance stems from the July 31 high of $11.96.
WHEAT: September SRW are firmer in the overnight, though down slightly from the highs in the session. Support is found at the 10-day moving average of $6.48 3/4, and backed by firmer support at the 40-day moving average of $6.43 1/4. First resistance is seen at $6.75.
LIVESTOCK CALLS
CATTLE: Lower
HOGS: Choppy/lower
CATTLE: Live cattle and feeder futures are expected to open lower this morning. Technical selling pressure has taken hold of cattle in the back-half of this week. News of Tyson re-structuring their beef operations through the closure of multiple beef packing plants are likely to weigh on markets today. October live cattle look for support at the July low close of $218.775.
HOGS: Lean hog futures are expected to open choppy to lower. Hogs are continuing to be a victim of lower cash fundamentals, with the most recent CME lean hogs index down 5 cents to $95.89. Spillover pressure from cattle is also likely to continue to weigh on hogs. Hogs will look for support at last week’s low of $81.325.