August 19, 2026

Mid-Co Morning Comments:
 

• Grain markets are firmer this morning after fading late in yesterday’s session. Dec ’26 corn has found some resistance around the $4.93 area, while CZ27 pushed to a three-month high of $5.03 ¾. Soybeans remain firm as well, with SX26 up double digits this morning.
• President Trump announced a pause in the 50% tariffs on Canada. In a Truth Social post, Trump indicated the U.S. and Canada reached a deal that includes reactivating the dormant Keystone XL Pipeline. Overall, the news should be viewed as positive for markets, particularly equities.
• The Pro Farmer Tour estimated Indiana corn yield at 183.5 bpa, roughly 10 bpa below last year, while Nebraska came in at 163.6 bpa, down around 8% from a year ago. The tour moves into Iowa and Illinois today, which should be interesting. I’m not sure how the tour accounts for flooded-out fields and drowned-out holes to get a true representation of the crop in the I-States, but early indications of the tour point to a good-sized yield drag from last year. We will see if IL and especially Iowa can bring up the averages.
• Basis was mostly steady yesterday. A handful of quick-ship soybean processor bids have traded out west. Look for bean premiums to stick around until harvest gets rolling, especially with several northern plants paying big numbers for FH September. That cash inverse could linger if this weather pattern holds and beans don’t mature as quickly as processors would like.
• Weather forecasts show additional rain across portions of the Eastern Corn Belt over the next week. Temperatures are expected to remain seasonally cool, with highs in the upper 70s and lows in the upper 50s. That certainly won’t push the crop along very quickly, especially following the recent heavy rains. I did see some corn starting to turn around Effingham yesterday, but it wasn’t very widespread.