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Soybeans were having a nice little run over the past seven days, moving higher in seven of the past eight sessions. But on Friday, prices faded back into the red following some profit-taking and technical selling. Winter wheat prices also moved back into the red heading into a three-day weekend, while corn prices found fractional gains.
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Grain markets will be closed on Monday, February 16, in observance of the Federal Presidents Day holiday. Come back to Farm Futures next Tuesday for our next round of ag news and market analysis.
Rains are coming to parts of the central U.S. over the next several days, delivering another 1” to 2” to a large area stretching from Oklahoma all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, per the latest 72-hour cumulative precipitation map from NOAA. Later this month, NOAA’s 8-to-14-day outlook predicts a continuation of seasonally wet conditions for the Corn Belt between February 20 and February 26, with warmer-than-normal temperatures for most of the central U.S. during this time.
On Wall St., the Dow tracked 170 points higher in afternoon trading to 49,622 following consumer price index measurements of +0.2% in January, bringing annual inflation to 2.4%. That was slightly below economists’ expectations. Energy futures were mixed, with Brent crude oil up 0.4% this afternoon to $67 per barrel. Gasoline futures faded 0.3% lower, in contrast. The U.S. Dollar softened fractionally.
Corn prices shook off small overnight losses
Prices traded in a narrow range on Friday and were able to move slightly higher following some light technical buying today. March futures inched half a penny higher to $4.3175, with May futures up 0.25 cents to $4.42.
Patience is often a virtue when it comes to grain marketing, according to Matt Bennett, CEO of AgMarket.net. “When it comes to a marketing plan, we're still nine months away from harvest,” he said in an interview with Farm Futures at his firm’s annual “Farming for Profit, Not Price” conference in Nashville. “Do I want to lock in a loss? Probably not. I want to kind of wait and see how this thing plays out.” Bennett shared his top-of-mind marketing thoughts in today’s Ag Marketing IQ blog – click here to learn more.
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange reported that 43% of Argentina’s 2025-26 corn crop is rated in good-to-excellent condition, easing one point lower from a week ago and falling to the lowest level of the season. Also worth noting that the percentage of the crop rated poor or very poor increased to 13%, revealing the negative impact of prolonged dryness in some production areas. Argentina is the world’s No. 3 corn exporter.
The latest updates to the U.S. Drought Monitor, out Thursday and covering the week through February 10, showed some substantial drought still hanging on to parts of the Midwest, including most of Illinois, northern Indiana and northwest Iowa. More than 62% of the region is currently experiencing overly dry conditions.
Corn settlements on Thursday were for 681,257 contracts.
Soybean prices faded slightly lower
Prices were trimmed by a round of technical selling and profit-taking on Friday that left most contracts down around 0.25%. March futures dropped 4.25 cents to $11.33, with May futures down 3.75 cents to $11.4850.
The rest of the soy complex was mixed. Soymeal futures firmed around 0.4% higher, while March soyoil futures eroded 0.8% lower.
USDA-FAS has its eye on expanding export efforts into Turkey, which is currently the 17th largest destination for U.S. agricultural exports, valued at $1.9 billion in 2025. Its reliance on imported inputs such as cotton, soybeans and feed grains to grow its middle class should keep demand for U.S. products in growth mode. A recent USDA-FAS article provided many more details on opportunities for export expansion – click here to learn more.
The Buenos Aires Grains Exchange showed significant erosion of the country’s 2025-26 soybean crop quality, with just 32% rated in good-to-excellent conditions. That was an eight-point drop from the prior week. However, forecasts predict 1” to 4” of rain arriving to some key production areas next week, which will provide some relief.
Soybean settlements on Thursday were for 525,655 contracts.
Winter wheat prices fell back into the red
Prices shot up substantially higher on Thursday before traders returned to a pattern of technical selling on Friday that pushed some contracts more than 2% lower. March Chicago SRW futures dropped 3.75 cents to $5.4875, while March Kansas City HRW futures lost 11.5 cents to $5.4250.
U.S. Wheat Associates applauded the announcement of the signing of the United States – Taiwan Agreement on Reciprocal Trade. “Taiwan is one of the U.S. wheat’s most important partners,” according to USW President and CEO Mike Spier. “The agreement has the potential to provide duty-free access for U.S. wheat and contains significant commitments to adopt sanitary and phytosanitary policies that are science-based and enable trade.” Taiwan is the eighth largest market for U.S. agricultural exports, with a total value of $3.8 billion in 2024.
French farm office FranceAgriMer reported that 91% of the country’s soft wheat crop was in good-to-excellent condition through February 9, a sizeable improvement from year-ago levels of 73%. The country’s durum crop is also in great shape, with 87% rated in good-to-excellent condition. France is Europe’s top grain producer.
South Korea purchased 1.8 million bushels of wheat from the United States and another 1.5 million bushels of wheat from Canada in an international tender that closed earlier today. The U.S. sourced grain includes soft wheat, hard red winter wheat and dark northern spring wheat.
CBOT wheat settlements on Thursday were for 323,308 contracts.