Note: Corn Products in Chicago will be closed MONDAY AND TUESDAY, June 7-8, 2010. They will re-open at 5AM Wednesday, June 9, 2010.

Elburn Coop in Morris will be open for corn and soybeans on Monday, June 7, 2010.
Elburn Coop in Ottawa will be open for corn on Monday, June 7, 2010.

Friday turned out to be an avalanche of bad news for markets across the board. Export sales for grains and soybeans were disappointing this week. Corn was a marketing year low and no new sales to China appeared. Markets outside of grains were also down hard. Employment data showed a good number of jobs created but, almost all were attributed to the US Census and are temporary. The Euro hit a 4 year low against the USDollar and Hungary joined the list of European countries with potential debt problems. It would be hard to name a country that doesn’t have debt problems at this point. Equity and crude oil markets dropped further after grain markets closed setting the stage for a weak opening Sunday night absent new developments. On top of all of that, corn belt weather looks ideal for crop development the next week to 10 days. There are some rumblings of a hotter, drier ridge settling in later but, it is not the most likely scenario at this point.

In today’s trading, grain and soybean futures were all down hard at the close. July corn finished down 9 ½ for the day leaving it down 19 cents for week (29 cents over two weeks). July soybeans closed down 20 today but, only down 3 for the week. July Chicago wheat futures finished 6 lower today and down 22 for the week. The bright spot for producers (if there is one in this market) is strong soybean basis. We are posted +.095 SN at Morris tonight. We are currently offering free DP until October 15, 2010 for soybeans in storage or delivered to Elburn Coop facilities.

National average on highway diesel fuel prices dropped for the third week in a row dropping 4.1 cents the latest report. Crude oil prices slumped along with other markets today with all of the negative economic news. This should limit fuel prices for the time being. Crude and gasoline stocks dropped slightly this week while distillate (diesel) stocks rose slightly. Stocks of all three products are historically high. Still watch for any developing weather disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico to inject fear of supply disruption into the market.

Have a great weekend!
Mike Etienne

Tuesday June 1, 2010

Carry over selling from last week along with almost perfect weather has put pressure on both corn and soybean futures. Corn down 5 cents, soybeans dn 5 cents, and wheat dn 7 cents today. Outside markets were also on the defensive today with crude dn $1.95 and the DOW off 112 pts.

Crop conditions released this afternoon by the USDA concur with local excellent looking crop as Corn good/excellent up 5 pts to 76% vs 70% ly. Illinois was actually down 1 pt to 76% G/E but every other state did improve significantly.

Soybean crop planted report showed the US at 74% this week vs 53% last week and 63% last year. The average pace for this week is 75%.

The nearby basis levels have been firming for the past week with soybeans at the river tonight +.035 and corn river -.09 with Corn Products leading at +.02. Producer selling of soybeans has been very very light over the past couple of weeks. I would like to point out to those of you with old crop soybeans that the cash market is paying a premium for old vs new example Morris nearby bid of 9.355 and fall delivery 8.655, don't miss out on the premium as some day down the road those will come together. June corn contracts will keep the pipeline full for this first week but without a board rally, I would suspect corn basis to stay steady or improve slightly. With the limited selling and ever changing basis levels, it is always good to put grain offers in with your local merchandiser, you never know what might happen throughout the day.

Scott Meyer