Weather helping crops mature
Light rains fell across most of southern Ontario during the past two weeks with amounts mostly less than 10 mm. The exception was the extreme southwestern areas of the province which received 10 to 30 mm. The drier weather was welcome and helped dry fields and advanced harvest progress in early soybean crops. Soybean harvest is underway in most areas of southern Ontario. Corn is nearing maturity with some earlier hybrids beginning to dry down.
Temperatures remained close to normal during the past two weeks with highs ranging from the upper teens to mid-20s. Although the temperatures were closer to normal, crop maturity did advance rapidly with both soybean and corn drying down under the dry, warm weather. The long-range forecast for October indicates that temperature and precipitation are expected to be close to long-term averages.
Soybeans drop after lack of U.S.-China deal
Soybean futures have dropped by 12 cents per bushel over the past two weeks and are currently trading close to the low end of the recent trading range. The November contract has slipped below the US$13 per bushel level, and is trading at the lowest level since the third week of August.
Prices dropped precipitously on Sept. 28 after the results of the recent trade deal between the U.S. and China did not mention soybeans. Although tariffs were lowered for corn, wheat, sorghum, meat, dairy, vegetable oils and meals there was no mention of soybeans. The market had been anticipating additional soybean export sales.
Managed money funds maintained a near-record net long position in soybeans in the week ending on Sept. 22. The funds held a net long position of 265,041 contracts which is the equivalent of 1.3 billion bushels. Soybean exports from the U.S. are off to a good start with total commitments of 21.2 million tonnes only three weeks into the marketing year. Just under half of the commitments are to China which has total commitments of 10.2 million tonnes for the 2026-27 crop year.
