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Closing Market Report

Today's wrap-up on the agricultural markets: news, analysis, and weather

Oct 16 | Closing Market Report

The October 16th edition of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason, provides an overview of agricultural markets, shifting consumer demands, and weather forecasts. Market analyst Mike Zuzolo discusses recent trends in the commodity markets, highlighting the influence of inflation, the value of the dollar, and new European export routes on crop prices. The program also features insights from CoBank's Brian Earnest, who explains how the increasing use of GLP1 medications is altering meat consumption, driving demand for protein-dense, leaner beef cuts and poultry. Finally, Eric Snodgrass offers an agricultural weather update, detailing a recent cold front across the Corn Belt, the upcoming harvest window, and the anticipated effects of a strong El Niño winter on both North and South American agriculture.

01:15 Ag Markets with Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting
07:53 GLP1s and Demand for Animal Proteins
10:59 Ag Weather with Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien Ag Solutions

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Oct 15 | Closing Market Report

The October 15, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report opens with commodity market updates, noting lower closes for corn, soybeans, and wheat. Matt Bennett of AgMarket discusses completing harvest in central Illinois, rapid crop dry-down, local yield results, and current technical price pressures facing both corn and soybean futures. Jim McCormick highlights AgMarket's growth, including its rebrand and transition to becoming a guaranteed introducing broker clearing through StoneX, alongside its brokerage, consulting, and crop and livestock insurance services. A report from Stephanie Hoff and CoBank analyst Billy Roberts details how soaring cocoa prices, reduced sugar beet acreage, and pest pressures are pushing candy makers toward ingredient reformulation and smaller packages to combat consumer sticker shock. Finally, Mike Tannura of Tstorm Weather delivers an agricultural weather outlook, analyzing rain-delayed winter wheat planting in the Southern Plains, favorable harvest windows across the Corn Belt, and the broader impacts of a strong El Niño pattern on soil moisture and crops across Brazil and Argentina.

01:21 Ag Markets with Matt Bennett, AgMarket
06:42 AgMarket Grows, Rebrands, and has a new Clearing Firm
12:12 Candy Makers Grapple with Cocoa, Sugar Headwinds
16:32 Ag Weather with Mike Tannura, Tstorm Weather

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Oct 14 | Closing Market Report

In this Wednesday edition of the Closing Market Report, Greg Johnson of Total Grain Marketing highlights that the East Central Illinois soybean harvest is nearing 90% completion with strong yields, though early corn yields are falling 20 to 25 bushels short of last year's marks. Nationally, the USDA Crop Progress Report shows the soybean harvest making rapid gains, particularly in Minnesota, while the U.S. corn harvest lags slightly behind the five-year average. In agricultural news, a global diesel shortage is projected to extend into 2027, compounded by regional violence in the Middle East, alongside updates on federal pardons related to diesel emissions sensors under the Clean Air Act. Finally, World Weather Inc.'s Drew Lerner forecasts incoming rain and a season-ending freeze for parts of the U.S. Midwest, alongside a much-needed dry period for waterlogged crop regions in southern Brazil.

01:33 Ag Markets with Greg Johnson, Total Grain Marketing
09:52 Oct 13 Weekly Crop Progress Report
11:18 WILL TV to Air Morrow Plots 150th 7:30 Thursday
12:06 DEF Sensors, NOx Sensors, EPA, & Pardons
13:10 Saudi Arabia, Diesel Supplies, and Aramco
14:29 Ag Weather with Drew Lerner, World Weather Inc.

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Oct 12 | Closing Market Report

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The October 12, 2026, edition of the *Closing Market Report* opens with closing commodity settlement prices for corn, soybeans, wheat, livestock, and energy. Host Todd Gleason discusses recent USDA grain stocks and crop production reports with North Dakota State University Extension agricultural economist Frayne Olson, examining how harvest progress, feed and residual calculations, yield adjustments in Plains states, export pace, and the increased carry-in are impacting corn marketing decisions. In agricultural news, beef industry consultant Nevil Speer analyzes why the administration’s tariff-free foreign beef import quota has failed to significantly move retail ground beef prices, while StoneX vice president Josh Linville reviews international fertilizer supply disruptions linked to conflict in the Middle East. The broadcast concludes with regional weather outlooks for key growing areas across the U.S. Corn Belt and Brazil.

02:11 Commodity Market Discussion with Frayne Olson, North Dakota State University

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Oct 09 | Closing Market Report

The October 9, 2026, broadcast of the Closing Market Report features host Todd Gleason analyzing daily commodity markets and the latest USDA crop production estimates. Guest Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting reviews the unexpected upward revisions to domestic and global corn yields, noting that the data runs counter to recent market trends and creates new headwinds for prices. Additionally, Joshua Nagelberg of CropProphet outlines the agricultural weather forecast, highlighting an incoming wet pattern for the western Corn Belt and evaluating how the current El Nino weather event is impacting early planting conditions for South American crops.

01:32 Ag Markets with Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics and Consulting
12:27 Ag Weather with Joshua Nagelberg, CropProphet

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Oct 08 | Closing Market Report

The October 8, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report covers late-season harvest conditions and an exploration of global food systems. Host Todd Gleason first speaks with Matt Bennett of AgMarket.net, who notes that favorable dry-down weather has accelerated the harvest, with soybeans generally outperforming corn yields ahead of the upcoming USDA Crop Production report. The broadcast then shifts to an interview with Michelle Michael and Brandon Whitworth, co-directors of the documentary *World Without Cows*. The filmmakers discuss their travel to 22 countries to document the complex cultural, economic, and environmental roles cattle play worldwide, emphasizing the need for nuanced, non-polarizing conversations about agricultural sustainability and the diverse goals of global producers.

01:42 Ag Markets with Matt Bennett, AgMarket.net
06:46 Alltech's World without Cows Film

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Oct 07 | Closing Market Report

Hosted by Todd Gleason from the Land Grant University in Urbana-Champaign, this edition of the Closing Market Report broadcasts from the Independent Grocer Summit in Carterville, Illinois, providing updates on agricultural commodities, rural grocery operations, and global weather. Greg Johnson of TGM reports that the Illinois soybean harvest is progressing swiftly with strong yields, whereas corn yields are proving disappointing due to prior weather damage. Johnson also notes a midday market sell-off as traders await the upcoming USDA crop production report. Shifting to rural food systems, Sean Park from the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs highlights the challenging operational landscape for independent grocery stores, which average an exceptionally slim 1% net profit margin. Park emphasizes that these rural grocers can remain competitive against large retailers by strictly monitoring unsold inventory, embedding themselves in the community, and developing destination-worthy meat departments. Finally, World Weather Inc. meteorologist Drew Lerner forecasts that Tropical Storm Delta will rapidly intensify into a hurricane before making landfall on the Gulf Coast, bringing severe flooding to southern regions and eventual beneficial rains to the Midwest. Lerner also anticipates a cold front bringing the season's first snow to the northern plains and notes that excessive rain is currently delaying agricultural fieldwork in southern Brazil.

00:30 Ag Markets with Greg Johnson, TGM
08:41 Extension's Independent Grocer Summit
16:46 Ag Weather with Drew Lerner, World Weather Inc

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Oct 06 | Closing Market Report

The October 6, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report covers commodity market movements, federal policy developments, harvest progress, and agricultural weather. Naomi Blohm of Total Farm Marketing analyzes a "Turnaround Tuesday" rally across corn, soybeans, wheat, and feeder cattle, driven by technical buying and positioning ahead of the USDA WASDE report. USDA crop progress data reveals corn and soybean harvest pacing behind five-year averages nationwide, led by significant weather-related delays in Iowa. Energy analyst Dave Chatterton reviews President Trump’s executive order deferring taxes and waiving penalties on highway use of red-dyed diesel, noting that while it offers short-term cash flow relief, it does not resolve broader diesel refining and supply constraints. The broadcast concludes with a global weather outlook predicting a much-needed dry window across the U.S. Corn Belt and mixed conditions in South America, followed by a demonstration of an AI-generated hyper-local ag weather forecast for Sangamon County, Illinois, tracking field conditions and bare soil temperatures for fall fertilizer applications.

01:24 Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, Total Farm Marketing
07:10 USDA Harvest Progress Update
09:03 President Trump's Diesel Fuel E.O.
19:06 Global Growing Regions Update
20:47 A.I. Delivers Hyper Local Forecast for Todd 

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Oct 05 | Closing Market Report

The October 5, 2026 edition of the Closing Market Report opens with commodity market settlements before agricultural economist Ed Usset discusses harvest rain delays, localized spikes in soybean basis bids, and grain marketing strategies ahead of the upcoming USDA WASDE report. The broadcast then examines the rapid expansion of data centers into rural America with American Farm Bureau Federation economist Bernt Nelson, addressing the balance between high financial offers for landowners, the permanent loss of productive farmland, and agriculture's increasing dependence on data storage for precision farming. Concluding the program, EverStream Analytics meteorologist Mark Russo delivers the weather outlook, forecasting a shift to warmer and drier conditions across the Midwest to aid harvest progress through late October, alongside favorable early planting conditions across South America despite planting delays in wet southern Brazil.

02:03 Ag Markets with Ed Usset, University of Minnesota
13:57 Data Centers, a new farm country neighbor
17:57 Ag Weather with Mark Russo, EverStream Analytics

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