Weekly Crop Commentary - 05/29/2026

Wes Bahan
Vice President, Grain Division
Grain markets had a volatile but ultimately cautious week, as early strength tied to China trade headlines and geopolitical risk faded without follow-through buying, leading to softer sentiment by the close. Corn held up relatively well on solid export activity and a few flash sales, but still struggled to gain momentum as broader pressure from lower crude oil and fund liquidation weighed on futures. Soybeans traded mixed, finding intermittent support from product markets and short-covering, but remained capped by ample global supplies, especially out of South America, and uneven demand signals. Wheat was the clear laggard, pressured by improving Plains moisture and weak export demand, while also reacting negatively to macro headwinds and fund selling.

Briana Holtzman
Grain Merchandiser, Kenton (Region 1)
Grain markets traded mostly sideways to lower this week, with volatility driven by headlines surrounding China, favorable U.S. planting weather, and outside market pressure from energy prices. Grains lost momentum after China’s verbal commitment to ag purchases this week, as traders questioned how and when these purchases will materialize.

Planting progress in the US continues to move along, with a good range of days ahead without rain and plenty of sun in the forecast to help eliminate some of the standing water and get the rest of the crops planted. Wheat has lost some strength as the Plains have finally seen rain.

The Iranian conflict remained tense this week amid reports of a 60-day ceasefire agreement. However, new US strikes have occurred. This escalation could lead to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz again, but we will keep an eye on it.

Ralph Wince
Grain Merchandiser, Canfield (Region 5)
Good afternoon. Farmers are working hard in NE Ohio to get this year’s crop in the ground. We have finally seen a change in the weather pattern, and the rains have stopped; the next 7-day forecast shows no rain at all. We should see significant progress by this time next week in this area of the state. 

Markets continue to soften as I write this week’s comments. As I have stated in past weeks, fundamentally, there has not been a good reason to have run the markets up as high as they were the past month. And with yet another round of talks pointing to a possible end to the Iran war, we are seeing grain markets soften. Today, we are seeing the VIX trade at a four-month low of 16. The VIX is the fear factor traders use on Wall Street to determine whether they should invest. With that said, we are seeing money move out of commodities and back into stocks. WTI crude is trading at a one-month low of $87 a barrel as of this writing.

Finally, we will need to continue monitoring the weather as we move into the growing season. I still feel that we need to keep targets working even if they are a fair amount higher than where the markets are. I know that when we get busy, the grain markets are not what is at the top of the priority list. At least have that target working, and if it hits, you will get a notification that it filled. Then we can talk again about where we should set our next target. Have a great weekend and be safe out there!!

Morgan Hefner
Grain Merchandiser, Nashport (Region 5)
Tuesday’s planting progress report showed a strong week of progress across much of the country. The U.S. is now reported at 86% corn planted and 79% soybean planted. Here in Ohio, corn planting reached 63% complete, while beans were 57% planted. The poor/very poor winter wheat ratings also increased by another point from last week.

A good amount of rain over the weekend and throughout this week has certainly slowed progress across most of Ohio. Areas with standing water in fields are unlikely to see significant progress for a good bit until field conditions improve.

Conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues, particularly surrounding control over the Strait of Hormuz. Grain markets have not reacted as aggressively to recent headlines. News of a peace deal is in the works, but this is not official and has not been agreed upon by both countries yet. Overall, crude oil volatility and ongoing geopolitical tensions involving Iran continued to create uncertainty across the commodity markets.