Weekly grain report

9/28/12: There were no cash soft white markets this afternoon as Portland exporters went to basis only bids for white wheat due to extreme volatility in the market. Nobody wanted a repeat of two weeks ago when the wheat market matched its high for the year only to be down 50 cents on Monday. The lack of a futures market on Friday afternoon leaves only cash sales as the outlet for market risk and when there’s no sales to be had there’s no market. Going forward I expect this to become a theme this year with soft white prices being tied closer to Chicago wheat futures than they’ve ever been. If you’re thinking of selling wheat on Friday, do it in the morning, because there may not be anything available in the afternoon.

10/1/12: Prices fell on Monday, although not to the degree they did two weeks ago when wheat prices dropped 50 cents after strong gains the previous Friday. Today wheat prices closed down 15 cents from Friday's high, while corn prices held steady with last week’s gains. Corn and soybean harvest continues at a record pace with half the nation’s corn already in the bin.