February 17, 2026

Mid-Co Morning Comments:
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• Good morning.  Grain prices are mostly lower, led down by Chicago wheat.  Eyes will be on the nearby Chicago wheat spreads today, as the March/May inverted slightly on Friday.  That spread is weaker this morning.  There was not much grain news over the long weekend.   Export inspections will be out today, and all the demand reports will be pushed back a day due to the holiday.   The Ag Outlook Forum is Thursday/Friday, and the trade will be watching to see what the USDA plugs in for acres into their budgetary worksheets.  We have another couple of weeks of setting the spring price for crop insurance.  March options expire on Friday.  NOPA crush is out today for the month of January.  Estimates are for crush to total 218.52 mbu, which would be the highest for January on record and the 3^rd highest ever for any month.  Warm temps will dominate the Midwest, which should continue to aid river thawing.  It gets a little cooler next week but then February will about be over.  Expect more continued delays along the river system as it takes a long time to catch up.  It continues to be very dry in the central part of the Midwest, and that will be something to keep an eye on as the spring approaches.  Argentina and southern Brazil saw some light shower activity over the weekend.  More rains are slated this week.  Central Brazil will be a touch drier, which should aid on more harvest activity.  The dollar is trading to its highest level in a week, and most outside commodity markets are lower.  The producer is estimated to be 75 to 80% sold on old crop beans with a few new crop beans starting to be sold.  A long way to go on old crop corn as the producer holds roughly 50% still.  Have a safe day.