2025 was a year of volatility for the corn and soybean markets. But, how are things looking for this New Year?
“2026 starting to look a little bit better for us,” according to Karl Setzer with Consus Ag Consulting.
He says the grain markets could be impacted in the New Year by what happens with some of the outside markets.
“Gold and silver finished with their best years that they’ve had since 1979,” he says. “We had seen these commodities—especially corn, soybeans, and wheat—thrown into ‘baskets’ when you have the managed money crowd show up. If they start to sell off the precious metals, you do tend to see corn and soybeans back off. However, to see some of this buying come back into golden silver would not be a surprise.”
He says the downward trading spiral of U.S. dollar could also impact the markets here in 2026.
“The U.S. dollar, however, is going to finish with the worst year it has had since 2017,” says Setzer. “To see a little bit weakness in the dollar to start out the year wouldn’t be a surprise either, and that is also beneficial for U.S. commodities, particularly from the export sales side.”
Setzer adds that the upcoming corn and soybean harvests in South America will also factor into U.S. grain prices this year.
“Brazil is producing another very large soybean crop,” he says. “As we started to get into December though, the weather started turning a little bit more negative for production in Argentina. A lot of weather watchers are keeping an eye on the developing La Niña, which could lead to some significant crop loss as there are already areas that have gone four weeks without meaningful precipitation.”
For more information about Consus Ag Consulting, visit ConsusAg.net.
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