Weekly Crop Commentary - 05/30/2025

Briana Holtzman
Grain Merchandiser, Kenton (Region 1)

I hope everyone had a great four-day week! This month has flown by, and we are already making our way into June! Hopefully, we will see the summer heat, and some early-in-the-week dryness, start to move into the area next week. The grain markets were uneventful this week, as there haven’t been any big headlines to justify making moves. Soybeans are still uncertain about where the government is going with a biofuels policy… and so am I. 

The national corn planting progress is 87% complete, and soybeans are 76% complete this week. Overall corn condition ratings are 68% good/excellent, with Indiana and Ohio struggling at 41-55% good/excellent. Overall, crop ratings should start to improve, for the most part, going forward, but we need to get crops in the ground for that to matter to us. 

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the sun and warmer temperatures it should bring!

Zane Robison
Grain Merchandiser, Urbana (Region 3)

Good afternoon! Markets had a rough week as we saw a significant decrease in the December Corn and November Soybean contracts.

The easing of weather concerns played a role as the United States finished 2% ahead of average for corn planting and 8% ahead of average for soybeans. Ohio still falls far behind average, while the rest of the Midwest is wrapping up. The White House announced small refinery renewable diesel obligations, and it appears that they are considering granting a record number of waivers. This has driven soy oil lower, and soybeans are following. The expectation of an increase in Brazilian production also played a part in this week's slide. 

Another week with more tariff news (shocking). On May 12th, it was announced that tariffs between the United States and China would be lowered for the next 90 days. This morning, however, President Trump made the announcement on social media that China “HAS TOTALLY VIOLATED ITS AGREEMENT WITH US.” So, what exactly does he mean by this? U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer explained that the United States has already lifted the tariffs and sanctions agreed upon between the two nations. At the same time, China is allegedly slow rolling back its sanctions as a deliberate act to slow the United States' economy. What does this mean for a future trade deal? No one seems to know, but it does not look promising. 

To end on a positive note, we may finally be getting some nice weather to start next week. Have a great weekend!

Lisa Warne
Grain Merchandiser, Marysville (Region 4)

Here we are at the end of another month, and another week of spotty rain showers and floundering markets. Soybeans are struggling again today after soy oil hit a 6+ week low overnight on the uncertainty of biofuel policies. Couple that with the President’s announcement this morning that trade negotiations with China have stalled and that China, in fact, has violated the 90-day agreement from about three weeks ago. For corn nationwide, the concern for acreage and yield is low right now, with most of the crop planted and receiving adequate weather conditions.

Locally, we’ve seen more planting and fieldwork getting accomplished between rainfalls, but there haven’t been widespread opportunities for everyone. I know the Bellefontaine area received a half-inch on Tuesday. Today has been a drizzly, dreary day in Marysville. Altogether, I know we’re on the homestretch, but it’s been a struggle for a lot of you.

For those of you with grain still in the bin, give us a call to get a plan together on getting it marketed. For both old and new crop, let’s put some target offers in at different levels and see if we can get those filled. Have a great weekend, and we’ll talk in June!

Ralph Wince
Grain Merchandiser, Canfield (Region 5)

Good afternoon. Grain markets have pulled back again this week. Planting progress numbers from a national standpoint look pretty good. Corn was at 87% planted as of 5/25/25, and beans were at 76%. Both were ahead of the 5-year average. Ohio is the trouble spot. Ohio only showed 54% planted on corn and 52% planted on beans. Both were behind the 5-year average. 

Today, the bulls in the market don’t have much to grab onto. We have seen the funds selling a lot of their position over the last month. The good part is that if we get a story, the funds will be quick to jump back in, and that will help push the market higher.

The on-again off-again tariff situation has not had a lot of affect on the grain markets, as of late. Traders seem to have become immune to that talk. Weather-wise, it does appear that we will get a window of opportunity early next week. We need that with the corn insurance planting date drawing near. Give us a call to talk things over. Have a good weekend!

Morgan Hefner
Grain Merchandiser, Nashport (Region 5)

Good afternoon.

It’s hard to believe that May has come and gone already! The crop progress report on Tuesday showed Ohio 10% behind the 5-year average for planted soybeans and 19% behind the 5-year average for corn. I do not think this comes as a surprise with the inconveniently timed rains we have had in the state this spring. However, the rest of the U.S. cannot relate to Ohio in terms of its lagging planting progress. The U.S. has 87% of its corn planted and 76% of its beans planted; both are above the 5-year average. 

There appears to be some uncertainty in the market, and in response, the markets are looking fairly bearish. Maybe we can catch a possible rally in the coming few weeks? That is the hope, at least.