Improved Market Prospects for U.S. Grain Elevators in 2023-24

Nov 16, 2023

The U.S. grain elevators are poised for a more profitable 2023-24 marketing year, thanks to favorable market shifts. The National Milk Producers Federation's recent annual meeting highlighted the U.S. dairy industry's perseverance and progress, discussing future challenges and opportunities.

Tanner Ehmke, a grains and oilseeds economist at CoBank, notes that despite the current difficulty in acquiring corn and soybean bushels, this challenge is expected to ease early in 2024. Elevated costs and the need for cash for spring planting will likely drive farmers to sell, especially if prices rally.

Inverted futures markets have limited elevator profit-making opportunities in the past two years. As buy basis falls and carries return to futures markets, elevators are considering wider carries and basis levels. Farmers are reluctant to own bushels due to a sharp drop in corn and soybean prices.

CoBank's report also mentions how some elevators are compensating for the lack of bushel ownership through higher storage fees and delayed pricing programs. These strategies have become popular as farmers await price rallies.

The basis for corn and soybeans is expected to appreciate, supported by strong domestic demand and cheaper transportation rates. The global abundance of these grains is likely to limit the rise in basis.

The report highlights the impact of U.S. corn and soybean export programs, international market dynamics, Chinese demand, and South American crop yields on carry and basis.

Video: Case IH Grain Drill Assembly: Extra Hands Required

its time to put things back together on the International 5100 grain drill. I reassemble all the row units back together and then try to install it back on the drill by myself. But that proved to be more challenging than I figured. So I enlist some help from Logans. It was so much fun having my son's help with farm projects. Its truly takes family to help make farming successful.

I am the 2nd generation to live on this property after my parents purchased it in 1978. As a child my father hobby farmed pigs for a couple years and ran a vegetable garden. But we were not a farm by any stretch of the imagination. There were however many family dairy farms surrounding us. So naturally I was hooked with farming since I saw my first tractor. As time went on, I worked for a couple of these farms and that only fueled my love of agriculture. In 2019 I was able to move back home as my parents were ready to downsize and I was ready to try my hand at farming. Stacy and logan share the same love of farming as I do. Stacy growing up on her family's dairy farm and logans exposure of farming/tractors at a very young age. We all share this same passion to grow a quality/healthy product to share with our community. Join us on this journey and see where the farm life takes us.