No Rain in 2 Weeks: Soybean Stress Rising in Illinois
No Rain in 2 Weeks: Soybean Stress Rising in Illinois  
Podcast: Grain Markets and Other Stuff
Published On: Mon Aug 18 2025
Description: Joe's Premium Subscription: https://standardgrain.com/Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/4NJ9AZc...Futures and options trading involves risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone.🌽 Welcome Back!Some parts of the US Corn Belt have turned very dry over the last two weeks. Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio have seen little to no rain 🌤️. Talk of a "flash drought" is heating up as the forecast stays dry. Temps have run 2–4° above normal, with a cool front expected this weekend. See maps below!🚜 Crop Tour 🚜Pro Farmer kicks off its Midwest Crop Tour this week (Aug 18–21). Scouts will travel across 7 states, measuring ear counts, pod counts, and crop health. 🌱 This tour offers the most widely followed, real-time snapshot of US crop potential. Results will be released daily, with final estimates Thursday night. Pete Meyer will join us from the tour later this week!📉 Corn Market UpdateThe Dec25 corn contract closed last week nearly unchanged despite a hugely bearish USDA report. 🌾 USDA pegged this year’s corn crop at 16.7B bushels—over 700M above trade guesses. Corn bottomed at $3.92 before closing near $4.05. Export demand is strong, but concerns linger. Big crops often “get bigger,” though not always… See charts below.🥫 Soybean Crush RecordNOPA’s July report showed a record crush for the month at 195.69M bushels (+5.6% vs June, +7% YoY). 💥 Soybean oil stocks fell to the lowest July level since 2004—just under trade estimates. See charts below!📊 Fund ActivityCFTC data shows “The Funds” shifted positions last week:➡️ Sold 6k corn contracts➡️ Bought 27k soybean contracts➡️ Sold 9k SRW wheat contractsCheck out the Fund Tracker below 👇👍 Stay Informed!Don’t miss a beat on weather, markets, and policy. Subscribe, drop a comment 💬, and share your thoughts on whether this “flash drought” will truly hit soybean yields.