Market bulls took Christmas off

Growers don’t always pay much attention to the markets during the final week of the year since things tend to be rather uneventful.

Merrill Crowley with Midwest Market Solutions in Watseka feels most of the bulls took Christmas off and all of the bears hung around. China is currently buying just enough to fill their soybean reserves.

“Last Friday, we had a three-cent rally in corn just because there was some corn sold to unknown destinations and China currently has poor crush margins in their beans due to herd culling,” Crowley told The Central Illinois Farm Network.

There is a huge soybean crop nearing completion in South America with plenty of supplies, although there is still time for them to have a problem. Midwest Market Solutions is looking for an early high this year based on the way things are setting up. Crowley is also worried about large corn acres.

“As we make our pricing this year, we want to use methods that will give us the opportunity to farm next year but will keep us from being trapped in low prices.”

Crowley believes the January USDA report should be bullish if the government shutdown has ended. He recommends making a marketing plan in the New Year if you haven’t done so already.

Midwest Market Solutions can be reached in Watseka at 815-432-2220.