I would like everyone reading to believe that I waited right up to my writing deadline because I wanted to provide the most accurate pre-harvest information possible. Truthfully, I previously wrote comments that were focused solely on a statewide farmer audience, before learning the audience was broader—farmers, industry staff and exporters/importers. This caused me to throw my original comments in the trash bin and start over.

That delay caused a thoughtful reset on how I approached this market update because of two main factors: a recent wet weather pattern, and world economics. I’ll confidently tackle the first topic and dance around the edges of the second one.

I’m grateful that I’ve finally made it to the finish line of this growing season. Soybeans are nearly free of leaves on all maturities other than the very latest, with only double crop soybeans still actively growing and filling pods. My own soybeans look to have above-average yields only because I completely missed the very heavy rains throughout the state in 2026. Many large geographic regions had incredible rainfall throughout the summer that led to some small, planted areas being lost due to flooding. Soybean plant diseases also showed up in some of those areas to reduce top-end yield.

If I am allowed to take a guess statewide, I’ll predict an average crop for 2026. My only remaining concern now is having an extended dry period to harvest soybeans while soybean moisture is close to 13%. Right where the market wants it at.

The only reason I will bring up world economics is that my wife and I annually take a last-minute trip before harvest. It serves as an important personal reset before the unending drumbeat of harvest. This year we drove through Canada to get to the very Northeast corner of the US, a part of the country I have always wanted to hike and camp in. Spending a short time in Canada purchasing gas, food and a hotel made me think of exchange rates worldwide and how that impacts soybean purchases by importers.

I often share the intricacies of farming, and the farm business, to international visitors when they visit our farm. I can only begin to imagine the complexity of purchasing commodities internationally when you have factors such as tariffs, phytosanitary protocol, exchange rates, shipping, sustainability assurances….! Safe to say I’ll leave this topic at, “I’ll do the best I can, if you do the best you can.” Within the week, I’ll be placing high-quality soybeans into storage and then start delivering them into the marketplace by December. With only 30% of my production currently sold, I’ll look to make additional sales soon. If I do have slightly above-average yields, and current prices hold, I’ll start rewarding the farm and capture those profits. As many cultures say, “a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.”