Grain markets traded higher overnight following news that the U.S. and China plan to hold trade talks in Switzerland this weekend. President Trump also hinted at a “big announcement” coming later this week, fueling speculation that it could signal progress on trade agreements with key U.S. partners. Shortly after 6:00 a.m. CT, July corn was up 6½¢ at $4.62 per bushel.
July soybeans were 13¼¢ stronger at $10.54½ per bushel. July soymeal was up $1.60 to $294.60 a short ton, and July soy oil jumped 0.55¢ to 48.90¢ a pound. July wheat markets were mixed in the early morning.
CBOT wheat was up 6¾¢ at $5.42¾ per bushel. KC wheat was 4¢ more at $5.42 per bushel. Minneapolis wheat increased 3¢ at $6.13½ per bushel.
“Grain markets are trading higher overnight following later-breaking news that the U.S. and China plan to hold trade talks in Switzerland this weekend,” said Al Kluis, managing director of Kluis Commodity Advisors.
Corn prices driven by trade talks
Crossing beef cattle with dairy cattle is nothing new, but in recent years, industry professionals have been working to help dairy farmers select beef genetics that produce profitable “beef-on-dairy” cattle.
“When the dairy industry first started doing beef-on-dairy, it was just, ‘Give me a black bull,'” said David Erf, a U.S. dairy technical service geneticist with Zoetis. “There was no concern about the quality of the beef carcass. The attitude was, ‘Anything is going to be better than a purebred Holstein bull.'”
In recent years, crossbreeding beef sires with dairy cows has gained popularity as an extra value-added income for most dairy farmers.
According to the National Association of Animal Breeders (NAAB), domestic beef units used on dairies increased by nearly 1 million units in 2023. The change in 2024, albeit much smaller, was an increase of 14,000 units. The Omega block dominating the upper-level pattern across the continental U.S. looks to evolve later in the week according to the National Weather Service’s (NWS) Weather Prediction Center.
However, general upper troughing over the East and South will likely bring rainy weather and widespread storms. “At the surface, a quasi-stationary frontal boundary reinforced by ongoing convection overnight stretches east to west just north of the Gulf Coast,” the NWS said. “Anomalously high Gulf moisture pooling along the boundary and upper-level support from the approaching low will provide a focus for yet another complex of storms expected to develop along the western Gulf Coast and move eastward along the boundary through the central Gulf Coast.”
Saturated soils from rain overnight and prolonged, heavy rainfall have the potential to cause flash flooding in the South.