Grain marketing · Apr 30, 2026

Sell the rest of the soy now. Hold the corn.

Soy just hit the $11.44 we were watching for. We're still a little ahead on what we wanted sold by now, but prices are starting to back off. June bills are coming due — better to move what we have left before it drops more. Corn is holding its own, so we're leaving it for now.

Stored corn
9,115bu
at Ritchie · ≈ $40,724 @ $4.47
Stored soy
0bu
sales a bit ahead
Cash on hand
$25k
~$30k due Jun · need a sale
How prices usually move through the year Lines show the usual price path vs. the low right after harvest (October = 0%). Dots = where today's prices sit on that pattern.
0% +4% +8% +12% Higher than harvest low Oct harvest low Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul usual high Aug Sep $11.68 TARGET HIT · SELL NOW $4.47 Bills due in June Corn usual path Soy usual path Right now

The lines show the price pattern we usually see. Right now soy is higher than its normal June spot (good for selling). The shaded strip is the time we need cash for bills — we want to sell while prices are strong.

Insights & Actions

Analyzing markets…
Corn · Ritchie
$4.47
elevator bid
Soy · Ritchie
$10.84
elevator bid
Basis · Ritchie
−18¢
corn · soy −4¢
Diesel · /gal
$3.42
+8¢ / 14d
DXY
102.8
6-wk low
Days to Jun bills
31
tax + Ritchie + Lattering
Season sales · MY 2025-26 when we sold · what we got · running totals · as of today
Soy sold
2,898bu
avg $10.10 · $29,282
Corn sold
3,500bu
avg $4.03 · $12,617
Combined
6,398bu
$41,899 gross
Still at Ritchie
0bu soy
9,115 bu corn
Date Crop Buyer Bushels $/bu Total
Oct 28 '25SoyPosen Coop472$9.82$4,612
Oct 30 '25SoyPosen Coop336$9.89$3,293
Oct 30 '25SoyPosen Coop429$9.90$4,224
Oct 30 '25SoyAkron / Ritchie1,500$10.61$15,564
Oct 31 '25SoyPosen Coop161$9.97$1,589
Nov 11 '25CornAkron / Ritchie3,500$4.03$12,617
May 5 '26SoyAkron / Ritchie~1,000pending

Pending row reflects a Bushel storage drop not yet booked in the ledger. Once entered, it'll move to a normal row with price + total.

Illinois farmland · value USDA NASS cropland value · $/acre
$10k $9k $8k $7k flat baseline · 2016–20 $9,500 peak $9,400 ·25 $7,400 ·20 inflection · 2021 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2025 REPORTING YEAR · USDA NASS LAND VALUES (AUG)

Source: USDA NASS Land Values, annual August release; quarterly view supplemented with Chicago Fed AgLetter survey. Values rounded to nearest $100. Illinois cropland average — productive ground (PI 133+) trades materially above this.

Grain marketing · May 5, 2026

Sell the rest of the soy now. Hold the corn.

Soy just hit the $11.44 we were watching for. We're still a little ahead on what we wanted sold by now, but prices are starting to back off. June bills are coming due — better to move what we have left before it drops more. Corn is holding its own, so we're leaving it for now.

Stored corn
9,115bu
at Ritchie · ≈ $41,656 @ $4.57
Stored soy
0bu
fully sold
Cash on hand
$25k
~$30k due Jun · need a sale
How prices usually move through the year Lines show the usual price path vs. the low right after harvest (October = 0%). Dots = where today's prices sit on that pattern.
0% +4% +8% +12% Higher than harvest low Oct harvest low Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul usual high Aug Sep $12.18 +5PP AHEAD OF PACE $4.57 $20,500 MAY → JUNE Corn usual path Soy usual path Right now

The lines show the price pattern we usually see. Right now soy is higher than its normal June spot (good for selling). The shaded strip is the time we need cash for bills — we want to sell while prices are strong.

Insights & Actions

Analyzing markets…
Corn · Jul
$4.57
+10¢ / 5d
Soy · Jul
$12.18
+50¢ / 5d
Basis · Ritchie
−28¢
corn · soy −4¢
Diesel · /gal
$3.42
+8¢ / 14d
DXY
102.8
6-wk low
Days to Jun bills
27
tax + Ritchie + Lattering
Season sales · MY 2025-26 when we sold · what we got · running totals · as of today
Soy sold
2,898bu
avg $10.10 · $29,282
Corn sold
3,500bu
avg $4.03 · $12,617
Combined
6,398bu
$41,899 gross
Still at Ritchie
0bu soy
9,115 bu corn
Date Crop Buyer Bushels $/bu Total
Oct 28 '25SoyPosen Coop472$9.82$4,612
Oct 30 '25SoyPosen Coop336$9.89$3,293
Oct 30 '25SoyPosen Coop429$9.90$4,224
Oct 30 '25SoyAkron / Ritchie1,500$10.61$15,564
Oct 31 '25SoyPosen Coop161$9.97$1,589
Nov 11 '25CornAkron / Ritchie3,500$4.03$12,617
May 5 '26SoyAkron / Ritchie~1,000pending

Pending row reflects a Bushel storage drop not yet booked in the ledger. Once entered, it'll move to a normal row with price + total.

Illinois farmland · value USDA NASS cropland value · $/acre
$10k $9k $8k $7k flat baseline · 2016–20 $9,500 peak $9,400 ·25 $7,400 ·20 inflection · 2021 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2025 REPORTING YEAR · USDA NASS LAND VALUES (AUG)

Source: USDA NASS Land Values, annual August release; quarterly view supplemented with Chicago Fed AgLetter survey. Values rounded to nearest $100. Illinois cropland average — productive ground (PI 133+) trades materially above this.