This week on SUNUP, OSU Agriculture Economist Dr. John Michael Riley discusses the highs and lows of current grain and cotton markets.
According to Riley, each year is interesting in its own right, and 2024 was no different. Improvements were expected from the past couple of years which resulted in a bit of a shake-up from the Prospective Plantings Report with far fewer acres of corn and more acres of soybeans than expected; between winter wheat and expected spring and summer wheat crops, there were about 4 million more acres than the market expected as well.
“All of that put a little bit of a damper on the marketplace,” Riley said. “Largely with beans and with wheat. Corn, was a little bit higher coming out of that.”
Once the planting numbers were gathered from producers, corn numbers were up, and soybean and wheat acres were nearly unchanged, which put a damper on the corn market.
“The expectations were that we were going to have a strong year,” Riley commented. “That we would have a decent crop, but nothing too overly abundant, and then the summer growing season presented some ideal conditions for pretty much everybody except for the Southern Plains.”
Most corn and soybeans had good conditions, which continued to add pressure to the market throughout the growing season causing prices to continue to decline.
During winter wheat planting, some folks planted because it was time and others waited for moisture to fall. Once the rain came, plantings eventually caught back up and Oklahoma wheat acres should be close to normal.
With 2024 being an election year, it caused a lot of uncertainty and unrest in the markets. Ag markets were anticipating what might happen, but since the election has been resolved, people have a better understanding of what the new administration may be planning to implement from a policy standpoint.
“Now that that uncertainty isn’t completely subsided, we do have some expectations,” Riley explained. “We’ve heard talk from the Trump Administration about what we are going to do with trade. We’ve heard talk of increased tariffs, which is a tax on goods that we bring into the U.S. which is often met with some retaliatory policies from our friends overseas.”
The U.S. exports a considerable amount of grain crops: 60% of corn, well over 80% of cotton, and less of the soybean and wheat crops, but enough to put those markets on edge.
Riley spoke about accepting the reins from Kim Anderson when he retired. Click the listen bar above to hear the complete conversation.
This week on SUNUP, we’re looking back at our favorite segments from 2024, plus a few of our favorite bloopers!
The following week is our annual year-end wrap-up show with Dr. Amy Hagerman, Dr. Derrell Peel, Dr. Mark Johnson and Dr. John Michael Riley.
From all of us here at SUNUP, we wish you and your families a safe, and happy holiday break!
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