Todd Hultman

USDA new-crop estimates in Thursday's May WASDE report were an interesting exercise but did nothing to ease the uncertainty of the year ahead.

USDA will release its May Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports on Thursday, May 12.

In early May, the planting of corn and soybeans has yet to take hold, but summer is coming with consequences for temperatures and possibly for prices.

The past couple years have been nerve-wracking for those relying on traditional market analysis. Through confusing times, the best marketing tips have come from grain prices themselves.

Even with soybeans near their highest prices in nine years, crush values remain even higher, offering historically strong demand for the world's most popular oilseed.

Typically, new-crop prices near their highest levels in nine years would be enough to ration demand, but this just isn't a typical time.

OMAHA (DTN) --May corn is up 21 1/4 cents per bushel, May soybeans are up 33 1/2 cents, July KC wheat is up 34 1/4 cents, July Chicago wheat is up 28 3/4 cents and July Minneapolis wheat is up 37 1/4 cents.

This week's Todd's Take looks at Ukraine from an earlier time, a Todd's Take rerun from Feb. 10, 2015.

USDA will release its April Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports on Friday, April 8.

Thursday's USDA planting estimates gave traders something to think about other than Ukraine and sent most crop prices in a bearish direction.

Financial assets, such as stocks, tend to do best during times of peace, and physical assets, such as crops and energies, tend to rise most during times of war.

USDA's survey of Prospective Plantings for 2022 and report of Quarterly Grain Stocks for March 1 will be released Thursday, March 31, at 11 a.m. CDT.

This week's discussion picks up where last week's left off, as we consider the possibilities of what might take crop prices lower in 2022.

New-crop prices might look enticing for hedging 2022 corn and soybean production, but there's more to consider than usual in this highly volatile market environment.

Somewhat like the tortoise and the hare, wheat prices were off to an explosive start after Russia's assault on Ukraine began, while corn prices have quietly made steadier gains.

USDA will release its February Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) reports on Wednesday, March 9.

A rare combination in history is causing a bullish explosion of grain and energy prices -- trends that aren't easy to turn back.

In the past six months, the soybean market has gone through sharp about-faces, not as dramatic as what we saw in 2020 but confusing enough for those trying to keep score.

USDA's latest estimates for 2022-23 don't tell us much about where markets are headed, but the markets themselves often do.

As corn and soybean prices press higher, the conversation is starting to get frothy.