Harvest Season

It’s hard to believe that September is already over a third gone. Soon we’ll have combines rolling and harvest will be underway. Eventhough we might have had yields trimmed some by the lack of finishing rains over the last month or so, it still has the makings of a very good crop. In an effort to quell some rumors in the trade area, FREMAR will have a Delayed Pricing Policy for the fall harvest. Those details on rates have yet to be released, but rest assured there will be program that can be utlilized for your unmarketed bushels. However, I would encourge the use of Basis Fixed or Minimum Price contracts as an alternative to DP on some of your bushels that need to come to town as well. Please contract your local CFC originator for details.

The September WASDE (S&D) report is due out today at 11am. The USDA would be justified if they lowered production (yields) on both the Corn and Soybean crops as once again most of the corn belt has lacked the precipitation needed to finish the crop.  However, I think Corn yields wil be reduced less than the average trade estimate as the Government will most likely not want to ‘whip-saw’ the number after publishing a record Corn yield in the August report. I believe the Government will also drop Soybean yields fractionally while adjusting the demand side of the balance sheet as US export business continues to disappoint and explicit Chinese business is non-existent.  

For those of you that participated in our Average Seasonal Pricing Program, I wanted to give an update on the final futures pricing for both corn and soybeans.  Pricing wrapped up Wednesday and prices ended at $4.40 December Futures and $10.30 November Futures, respectively. We are currently taking sign ups again for the 2026 crop and pricing starts in early January. 

Final thought. Many of you have seen me write this before, but we appear to be blessed with a very good crop again this year. Each season presents its own challeges and this year is no different.  With a lack of Soybean Export demand, we have switched our plans on how we execute on the challenge of handling this crop and servicing you. While we feel confident in our plans, there could be some hurry up and wait moments during the progression of harvest. When that happens, the temptation to take short cuts to get the job completed faster can be tempting. Practice safe work habits during your harvest tasks and operations. In the end we will all be working in earnest to get this harvest completed, we just need to afford each other a little patience and consideration in the process. On behalf of all CFC employees, I wish you a very safe and successful harvest!

Crops are starting to turn in color and harvest is quickly coming around the bend. Along with that, fall fertilizer plans and prices are quickly becoming the talk of the countryside. U.S. imports are very low on the phosphate side due to tariffs and duties with the foreign countries of China, Morocco, Russia, and Saudi Arabia. The U.S. production rates of phosphates is not enough to keep up with the U.S. demand. MAP and DAP pricing has increased and is a topic worth taking note of. I understand higher fertilizer prices paired with lower grain prices can be unsettling. But something to think about is large crops remove large amounts of nutrients. My fear is that as farmers get in the field nationwide, they will see these large crops and realize to have a shot at raising another big crop next year they will need to at least get some fertilizer out this fall. This could put our tight supply in higher demand and come with a seasonal premium. Let’s not make that mistake. Reach out to your local agronomist and get a plan in place so we can achieve success for the future.