Good Morning,

Nice rains falling across the state overnight and this morning that will maintain or increase the size of this years crop. Most of our producers have said that their corn has tasseled or will be in the next week. This rain along with favorable temperatures will ease any concerns that may have existed. Current weather and forecasts for the majority of the Midwest growing areas appears to be the same with Northern Missouri and a small area in Southern Iowa being the only major areas with moisture concern.(see map below)

President Trump continues to “poke the bear” as he said he is willing to impose $505 billion worth of tariffs on China if they continue to retaliate to his requests. This tariff would represent the total value of American imports from China. US trade officials have said that their main trade focus is getting NAFTA 2.0 completed by the end of the year.

While trade talks and tariffs with China are the main headline, there are several other countries with tariffs and trade issues with the US. Yesterday’s export sales report did show a cancellation of EU corn sales which is believed to be related to the 25% tariff on US imports. No one knows if or when these issues will get resolved. Regardless of the timeline, we should not expect an immediate rebound in the markets when things get worked out. Producers need to find a way to cover their operating costs with the current price structure.

Have a Safe Weekend!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

The markets have moved sideways the last 3 days with trade war news and weather both uneventful this week. While there are no formal meetings scheduled between the US and China to discuss trade issues, the US and Mexican officials have agreed to expedite negotiations in order to reach a preliminary deal by late August.

Old crop weekly exports were better than last week in corn and soybeans but both were below their ten week average. New crop exports were strong with corn at 30.5 million bu. and soybeans at 22.5 million bu.

The US Midwest weather has rain and temperatures running slightly below average into the weekend which will aid in pollination and filling of kernels. The 11-16 day forecast has average temperatures and close to average rainfall for the Midwest.

I look for the markets to continue their sideways pattern as traders wait on any news from the political front and continue to monitor what effects the recent heat wave may have had on the crop size.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss some special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

Slightly higher markets overnight as we saw some short covering in corn and soybeans from yesterday spill over into the night session. Slightly lower crop ratings may move the market a little higher when we open this morning, but the ratings are still historically high so any long term moves are doubtful.

Corn came in at 72% G/E for the US compared to 64% last year and a 5 year average of 70%. Wisconsin came in at 82% G/E compared to 75% for the five year average. Soybeans came in at 69% G/E for the US compared to 61% last year and a five year average of 67%.

The US has filed claims with the WTO against China, the EU, Canada, Mexico and Turkey after those countries filed complaints about the Presidents steel and aluminum tariffs. There is some talk that US and China may be talking about trade issues. New $200 billion dollar tariff is due in early September. There may be dialog to resolve issues before then compared to talks last week that China would not meet until after the midterm elections. Some also feel that US soybean export prices are 23% below Brazil and have almost priced in the current 25% tariffs. Unfortunately this is not something that is going to move prices higher for US producers.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss some special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

Last week saw fund selling pound the markets lower with both speculators and index funds as big sellers. Hedge funds were sellers for the 7^th consecutive week. Their position has gone from 216,000 contracts long to 73,000 contracts short. In that span we saw corn go from $4 to $3.40.  Thursdays USDA report did little to move the markets despite giving us bullish news with lower stocks in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 crops.

Fundamentally the corn markets remain undervalued by at least 30 cents in my opinion. But rainfall amounts from 1-3 inches fell in areas of Kansas, Illinois, Eastern Iowa and Southern Wisconsin. Showers and moderate temperatures are expected in much of the Midwest during the next two weeks which will be ideal for pollination.

With no major reports to be released until the August 10^th S&D report I would expect weather to be the main market mover for the next couple weeks. The next USDA report historically comes with yield adjustments as they will give state by state forecasts.

Producers looking to move old crop and clean out their bins before the 2018 crop starts to come off should give us a call to discuss some special options that we have for you.

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com

Good Morning,

USDA Supply and Demand report out at 11am this morning. The average corn yield estimate of 174.9 bu/acre may be low given how good the Good/Excellent ratings have been recently (10% higher than last year). Despite the great ratings I would expect the government to be conservative in this report and make bigger adjustments in the August report when we get a state by state breakdown. Today’s estimates are attached below.

Weekly exports were soft again for the week ending 7/5/18 with corn at 15.8 million bu.(13 million below the 10 week average) Soybeans were the worst in the last 8 weeks at 4.7 million bu.(6 million below the 10 week average). I do not see last week’s lower export numbers as a big surprise as it was a shortened week due to the 4^th of July. I would also expect we will see these numbers continue to be low as we near the end of the old crop marketing season. New crop sales for both corn and beans were below their 10 week average, but as US prices continue to fall we are becoming much more competitive in the world market despite the tariffs.(review my commentary from Monday)

Despite the dry weather locally, the US drought monitor has gotten better for the upper Midwest over the last week while areas in Missouri and Kansas have gotten worse.

Billion Bushels

Have a Safe Day!

Garry Gard

920-348-6844

ggard@didionmilling.com