Happy Friday the 13th. Ag markets ended the week in the green on Friday as morning biofuel news caused buying to emerge in the soybean and wheat markets early that spilled into the corn market as the day went on. Yesterday's report is already now old news, with focus back squarely on weather and policy developments where it likely remains into the end of the month. Have a good weekend!

🌽 Corn Market Update

📈 Prices:

• July Corn (CN): $4.44 1/2, up 6 cents
• December Corn (CZ): $4.43, up 2 1/2 cents
• July/September Spread (CN/CU): 16, up 3 3/4 cents
• For the week: CN - up 2 cents; CZ - down 6 1/4 cents

📋 Market Headlines:

• Not a lot of headlines in the corn market Friday, as strength in the wheat and soybean markets generally pulled values higher throughout the day. Traders seem to continue to be uninterested in the relatively tight new crop balance sheet due at least in part to the fact that they assume exports are currently overstated.

• As we go into next week, weather will continue to be the primary driver of price action, as an ongoing mix of rain and sunshine will give funds little reason to exit their short positions ahead of the June stocks and acreage report due out at the end of the month.

Summary:

Like we said in the headline section, there simply wasn't a lot of corn specific news on Friday amid the abundance of noise and excitement going on in the soy complex. The USDA did little of note in yesterday's report, which turned attention back to crop prospects and weather going into the weekend. Both old and new crop futures have seem to found some sort of value in the low 4.30's area, which will be primary support as we go into next week.

🌱 Soybean Market Update

📈 Prices:

• July Soybeans (SN): $10.69 3/4, up 27 1/2 cents
• November Soybeans (SX): $10.54 3/4, up 27 1/2 cents
• July Soybean Meal (MN): $291.90, down $2.60/ton
• July Soybean Oil (LN): 50.61, up the 3.0 cents/lb trading limit
• July/August Spread (SN/SQ): 3/4, down 1/2 cent
• For the week: SN - up 12 1/2 cents; SX - up 12 3/4 cents; MN - down $3.80/ton; LN - up 3.11 cents/lb

📋 Market Headlines:

• Soybean market headlines were dominated by biofuel policy announcements on Friday, as the EPA this morning proposed biomass based diesel blending rates for 2026 at 5.61 bil gallons and for 2027 at 5.86 bil gallons; this was well above what the industry had anticipated after erroneous reports were released yesterday indicating the level was likely to be smaller.

• In its announcement, the EPA also indicated it intended to cut RIN values for imported feedstocks by 50%; Last year, imported feedstocks, including UCO, accounted for roughly 45% of biomass-based diesel production.

• Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, sources also indicated that the EPA intends to announce a decision on small refinery exemptions before finalizing today's proposed blending requirement, but not a lot of other details were given. Next steps on the overall situation now include a public comment hearing scheduled for July 8th and 9th, so it will at least be several more weeks before anything is finalized.

• Due to today's limit move in bean oil, Monday will see expanded trading limits of 4.5 cents/lb in bean oil, $30/ton in soybean meal, and $1.15/bu in soybeans.

Summary:

Active day in the soybean complex to wrap up the week on Friday, as the morning biofuel announcement had soybean futures sharply higher and soybean oil futures locked limit down for most of the session. The proposed mandate is not a done deal yet and still has several hoops to jump through before being fully approved, which means headline risk regarding the situation will stay elevated. That said, that the Trump administration seems intent on offsetting some of the tariff pain with policy mandates is a positive sign today for US ag.

🌾Wheat Market Update

📈 Prices:

• July Chicago Wheat (WN): $5.26 1/2, down 8 1/4 cents
• December Chicago Wheat (WZ): $5.63 1/2, down 7 cents
• July/September Spread WN/WU: -15 1/4, down 1/2 cent
• For the week: WN - down 12 cents; WZ - down 9 1/4 cents
• Not really a specific reason for Friday's wheat rally; buying was likely related to increasing tensions in the Middle East and there was also probably some measure of profit taking by shorts going into the weekend.

📋 Market Headlines:

• Weather forecasts continue to look generally favorable for harvest in the southwestern part of the US Wheat Belt, though areas further east have seen rains that will likely slow things down for a few days.

• Global wheat weather also remains decent as far as the forecast goes, as eastern Ukraine into the Russian ag area look to continue seeing regular rainfall, while China's wheat regions also see favorable rainfall in the forecast over the short term.

Summary:

Wheat futures seemed to benefit from overall bullishness in the space on Friday, as there wasn't anything specific to point in terms of reason for the market strength throughout the day. As we go into next week having put in an outside day higher on the charts this morning, the overnight low at 5.22 and 1/4 on the July contract will be key support next week.