3 Big Things Today, Oct. 29, 2025
- Media Logic Radio
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
By Tony Dreibus Updated on October 29, 2025
1. Soybean Futures Lower Overnight on Profit Taking
Soybean futures were lower in overnight trading on technical selling after prices reached a 15-month high yesterday.
Prices jumped in recent days on optimism about the upcoming meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, set for tomorrow on the sidelines of an economic conference in South Korea.
Anticipation about the meeting has been building after negotiators last week hammered out a possible agreement that could end the ongoing tariff war between the world’s two largest economies.
Investors who were long the market, or had bet on higher prices, likely sold contracts and booked profits after prices surged, leading to overnight price declines.
Traders will take a wait-and-see approach to the trade talks between Trump and Xi on Thursday and hope for a solution to the months-long tariff war. China has yet to purchase new-crop soybeans from the U.S. after buying $12.6 billion worth of the oilseeds last year.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week after hammering out the proposed agreement with China that the Asian nation would be making “substantial purchases” of U.S. soybeans as part of the deal.
Soybean futures for November delivery fell 5¾¢ to $10.89½ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soy meal was up a dime to $306.60 a short ton and soybean oil futures fell 0.33¢ to 49.93¢ a pound.
Corn futures for December delivery lost 1¢ to $4.31 a bushel.
Wheat futures for December delivery dropped 1¼¢ to $5.27¾ a bushel, and Kansas City futures were down ¼¢ to $5.19¾ a bushel.
2. ASA President Testifies on High Input Costs
American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland told lawmakers yesterday that U.S. farmers are facing shrinking operating margins as input costs remain high.
Commodity prices are down by half since 2022 and farmers are expected to take a $109-per-acre loss this year, he told the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee in a hearing titled “Pressure Cooker: Competition Issues in the Seed & Fertilizer Industries.”
“Farm profitability for row crops like soybeans will continue to remain in peril if input costs remain static at current levels,” Ragland said, according to a statement from ASA.
The association, along with other farm groups, have urged lawmakers to help reduce production costs to prevent more farm closures.
Ragland said there are priorities on which Congress and the Trump administration could act to reduce input costs including providing tariff relieve on ag inputs including fertilizer, seed, pesticides, and machinery and parts, finalizing policy on biofuels such as RFS standards and 45Z clean fuel production credit guidance and delivery assistance to help growers manage severe losses and negative basis.
The ongoing trade war with China has worsened the problem, he said.
“As trade negotiations continue deep into our marketing window with China, it is likely that a quarter of U.S. soy production will need to find new customers,” Ragland said in testimony to the committee. “However, when you remove the outside factor of trade losses from the equation, the rising cost of farm inputs continues to squeeze on-farm profitability.”
3. Freeze, Strong Winds Expected in Parts of the Midwest
Weather maps were lit up overnight as freeze warnings and watches and high-wind warnings have been issued in various parts of the Midwest and southern Plains.
Temperatures dropped to around 25°F overnight in counties in the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, the National Weather Service said.
Freeze watches will take effect late tonight and last into Thursday morning in south-central Nebraska and north-central Kansas, NWS maps show.
Sub-freezing temperatures in the mid-20s to around 30 degrees Fahrenheit are expected overnight into early tomorrow morning in the region.
Intense winds are forecast from western Iowa south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Wind speeds in eastern Kansas and extreme western Missouri will be sustained from 20–25 mph and gust up to 40mph, NWS said.
Objects could be blown around and tree limbs may come down, the agency said. Power outages are also possible.
Article: Successful Farming, October 29, 2025
