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Senator Grassley hates to say it, but… Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is reportedly pessimistic that the upcoming meeting between President Trump and China’s Xi Jinping will bear fruit on soybeans. Grassley was loathe to admit the rare earth minerals that China is now limiting for export are as important if not more important to the U.S. economy than the U.S. soybeans that Beijing has shut out.
He says recent events don’t bode well for soybeans noting he saw soybean trade on the agenda when the Chinese negotiator recently visited Washington, sayingit was also on the agenda for a meeting in Spain. Grassley lamented quote, “I never heard anything coming out of either meeting about soybeans.”
Grassley urged Trump to boost domestic demand for soybeans with biofuels as a better option saying, “He can finalize the proposed rules to increase RVOs. Secondly, reallocate 100 percent of small refinery exemptions, and maintain the half-RINS for foreign feedstocks and fuels.” Grassley also spoke in favor of year-round E15 legislation remarking, “Until we get the legislation passed, we’re never going to get the investment by retailers to make sure the E15 pumps can be equipped to put out E15 on a regular basis.”
Missouri Court rules against chem giant… Jefferson City, MO -- German chemical giant Bayer must pay a $600 million Missouri court judgment that found its herbicide Roundup causes cancer, a ruling the company says could hasten a decision to stop making the popular product.
The Missouri Supreme Court on Sept. 30 refused to hear an appeal in the Cole County lawsuit that initially awarded four plaintiffs $1.56 billion. The October 2023 jury award was reduced to $611 million by Circuit Judge Daniel Green, a decision upheld in May by the Western District Court of Appeals. In a statement to The Independent not attributed to any individual, Bayer said it was considering whether there were further appeals that could be filed.
“We continue to believe that significant and reversible errors were committed during trial and the appellate phase and warrant review by a higher court,” the company stated. Matthew Clement, a Jefferson City attorney who worked on the case, said there are no appeals left except for an unlikely review by the U.S. Supreme Court. -source: Rudi Keller, Missouri Independent newspaper
CoBank finds political bias skews survey data… Recent revisions to the downside in monthly payroll estimates have many market watchers guessing the Fed will move more aggressively on cutting rates. But those opinions may be skewed.
According to a new quarterly report from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, the firm could make the case the Fed will make 125 basis point cuts in interest rates by the end of 2026. That would put the overnight rate around 3% by the end of next year. However, economic data and the success of the Trump administration with monetary policy will ultimately determine the outcome.
“The intense politicization of attitudes has rendered longstanding public sentiment surveys erratic and unhelpful in gauging actual economic conditions,” said Rob Fox vice president of CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange. “The federal government shutdown and potential loss of scheduled economic reports will make it even more difficult for businesses to gauge the economy and make prudent business decisions.”
Fox reassured that the oncoming adoption of Artificial Intelligence is not likely to diminish job prospects noting rather, “New technologies have always raised concerns about job losses. The recurring theme is job transformation, not elimination. This time isn’t any different. Today’s college graduates are already deeply familiar with AI and are using it to sharpen skills hiring managers value most.”
Lawmakers reintroduce legislation guarding against foreign interference… Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Rick Crawford (R-AR) have reintroduced the Promoting Agriculture Safeguards and Security Act that will protect U.S. national security by prohibiting foreign adversaries from purchasing or controlling American agricultural land and businesses.
“Food security is national security, and I’m proud to reintroduce this legislation that will stand up against our foreign adversaries as they attempt to control our agriculture industry,” Stefanik said. “The U.S. cannot allow ownership bids of assets by communist China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea to undermine the efforts of our farmers, who work hard to feed and fuel our communities.”
The PASS Act would ensure USDA is involved in reviewing foreign acquisitions of American agricultural land and businesses, and blacklists America’s foreign adversaries from controlling U.S. agricultural land. “U.S. agriculture is a critical industry with real and significant impacts on our national security,” Representative Crawford added.
Notable closes…
December corn posted a third consecutive higher close... that includes a pattern of a low-range open and a high-range close. That’s unusual in the middle of harvest and December futures today closed above short-term downtrending resistance drawn off the September and October highs.
- December corn futures were a nickel higher at $4.21 3/4
- March corn up 3 ¼ cents to $4.35 1/2
- May corn futures closed at $4.43 3/4, up 2 3/4 cents
December bean oil opened steady and rallied sharply on support from global biofuel supports... but prices retraced the gains to close just slightly above the opening range. That took soybean futures on a similar ride with November beans opening on session lows and – after making a new high for the week – front-month beans posted a low-range close.
- November beans were 4 ¼ cents at $10.10 3/4
- January beans up 4 1/4 to $10.28 1/2
- March beans closed at $10.43 3/4, up 4 cents