Closing Market Report

The September 16, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason from Illinois Public Media and University of Illinois Extension, covers current commodity markets, agricultural farm management, energy infrastructure, and global weather patterns. The broadcast begins with a commodity market recap featuring Greg Johnson of Total Grain Marketing, who discusses grain and livestock price action, market volatility tied to rumors concerning Chinese President Xi Jinping, CONAB’s Brazilian crop projections, and strong spec fund positions amid the early U.S. harvest. Gleason then previews a farmdoc report and upcoming webinar by Gary Schnitkey and Nick Paulson analyzing Illinois county cash rent trends for 2026 and projections into 2027. Transitioning to rural infrastructure, Stephanie Hoff reports on how electric cooperatives are managing the surge in electricity demand from large-scale data centers, featuring insights from NRECA CEO Jim Matheson on permitting hurdles and grid reliability. Finally, meteorologist Drew Lerner of World Weather, Inc. provides a global crop weather update, reviewing drought conditions in the Southern Plains, wet field conditions slowing harvest across portions of the Corn Belt, historically dry waterways impacting grain transport in France and Europe, and early-season planting rainfall across South America.

02:38 Ag Markets with Greg Johnson, TotalGrainMarketing.com
11:10 farmdoc Updates Illinois Cash Rents by County Map
12:52 Data Centers and Electirc Cooperatives
16:10 Ag Weather with Drew Lerner, WorldWeather.cc

The September 15, 2026, broadcast of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason, outlines current commodity market movements, agricultural energy constraints, and harvest weather forecasts. Naomi Blohm highlights unexpected technical strength in soybean futures despite bearish USDA data, while analyzing Brazilian crop estimates and anticipated Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Dave Chatterton details a severe degradation in global diesel inventories driven by concurrent international conflicts, pushing fuel prices to historic highs as the U.S. harvest begins. Finally, Don Day forecasts a persistent, week-long rain event across the northern Corn Belt that will stall early harvest operations before giving way to cooler, drier conditions in October.

01:41 Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, TotalFarmMarketing.com
09:53 Ag Energies with Dave Chatterton, Strategic Farm Marketing
18:11 Ag Weather with Don Day, DayWeather.com
21:45 2027 Cash Rent Negotiations Webinar Thursday @ 11am Central

The September 14, 2026, broadcast of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason of the University of Illinois Extension, features three primary discussions centered on agricultural markets, agronomic practices, and weather forecasting. Agricultural economist Frayne Olson explores the commodity markets, explaining how surging energy prices and transportation fuel surcharges influence grain basis levels and delivery timing without significantly impacting overall demand. Olson also highlights that widespread drought in North Dakota is negatively affecting local corn and soybean yields. In the second segment, University of Illinois entomologist Nick Seiter discusses the return on investment for prophylactic insecticide applications in corn and soybeans. He notes that standard insecticide inclusions with fungicides or seed treatments rarely provide economic value, as insect populations in Illinois typically do not reach yield-limiting thresholds. Finally, meteorologist Mark Russo from EverStream Analytics delivers a regional weather outlook, predicting warm, dry conditions conducive to rapid harvesting in the southern Corn Belt. Russo also notes that a historically strong El Niño pattern is bringing necessary moisture for hard red winter wheat planting across the southwestern Plains.

01:31 Ag Markets with Frayne Olson, North Dakota State University
11:52 The ROI of "it's included" Insecticides
18:36 Ag Weather with Mark Russo, EverStream.ai

The September 11, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason from University of Illinois Extension, covers agricultural commodity markets, agronomy updates, and seasonal weather patterns affecting harvest. The program begins with market analysis from Mike Zuzolo of GlobalCommResearch.com, who evaluates the latest USDA WASDE and crop production estimates alongside settling grain prices, the unwinding of soy-corn spreads, technical price thresholds, and the influence of rising crude oil prices driven by Middle Eastern geopolitical tensions. Abigail Peterson of the Illinois Soybean Association then recaps the ISA Field Day in Decatur, highlighting on-farm trial protocols, cover crop biomass studies for weed suppression, free soybean cyst nematode testing, and upcoming winter residue management workshops. Finally, atmospheric scientist Eric Snodgrass of Nutrien Ag Solutions breaks down regional and global weather trends, noting an unusually quiet Atlantic hurricane season

01:53 Ag Markets with Mike Zuzolo, GlobalCommResearch.com
08:41 Recapping the ISA Field Day in Decatur
15:11 Ag Weather with Eric Snodgrass, NutrienAgSolutions.com

The September 10, 2026 edition of the Closing Market Report provides a comprehensive overview of commodity markets, fall fertilizer strategies, and agricultural weather. Matt Bennett of AgMarket.net attributes recent market gains to confirmed Chinese purchases and tight global soybean stocks, advising producers to manage risk through hedging rather than relying on continued rallies. John Jones, a University of Illinois soil scientist, outlines fall fertilizer recommendations, stressing the economic value of targeted grid or zone soil testing for phosphorus and potassium to avoid unnecessary applications. He also emphasizes utilizing the Corn Nitrogen Rate Calculator to optimize anhydrous ammonia rates. Lastly, Mike Tannura of Tstorm Weather forecasts a shift toward cooler, wetter conditions in the central United States that should benefit wheat planting, while noting unusually heavy early-season rainfall in southern Brazil and the developing impacts of a historically strong El Niño pattern.

01:02 Ag Markets with Matt Bennett, AgMarket.net
07:55 UofIL Fall Fertilizer Application Recommendations
17:04 Ag Weather with Mike Tannura, Tstorm.net

This episode of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason, provides a comprehensive update on commodity markets, the beef industry, and global agricultural weather. The program begins with Greg John from Total Grain Marketing, who discusses pre-report estimates for upcoming USDA crop production figures, noting expected yield drops for corn and soybeans, alongside the potential market impacts of Chinese commodity purchasing. Next, University of Illinois extension beef specialist Travis Meteer analyzes the current cattle cycle, explaining how meatpacking plant closures and low herd inventories are shaping the industry while cattle are being fed to all-time heavy weights to compensate for lower head counts. Finally, Drew Lerner of World Weather Incorporated delivers a global weather outlook, highlighting the erratic early-season showers in Brazil, persistent heat in the southwestern United States, harvest-delaying rains across the Midwest, and a large storm system threatening crop quality in the Canadian Prairies.

01:43 Ag Markets with Greg Johnson, TotalGrainMarketing.com
11:10 Thoughts on the State of the Beef Industry
14:46 Ag Weather with Drew Lerner, WorldWeather.cc

The September 8, 2026, edition of the Closing Market Report, hosted by Todd Gleason, provides a comprehensive overview of commodity trade, agricultural policy, and regional weather. Following the settlement numbers, Naomi Blohm of TotalFarmMarketing.com analyzes quiet post-holiday trade action in corn and soybeans, strong overnight gains in wheat driven by Black Sea developments, and market positioning ahead of the USDA's upcoming WASDE report. The program then examines federal agricultural policy, detailing producer dissatisfaction over the Trump administration's 90-day tariff suspension on South American beef imports, featuring commentary from Nebraska cattle rancher John O'Dea on producer margins, and reviewing executive orders targeting meatpacker concentration. University of Minnesota agricultural economist Ed Usset follows with historical context on August grain rallies, comparing current market movements to previous years—such as 2003, 2011, and 2022—while cautioning against expectations of runaway harvest rallies. Finally, meteorologist Don Day of DayWeather outlines the regional forecast, highlighting modest temperature relief and scattered shower activity extending into the Corn Belt and southern Plains fueled by subtropical moisture from the Pacific.

01:59 Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, TotalFarmMarketing.com
08:25 Beef Imports, Meatpackers, Ranchers, and the Oval Office
11:13 Commodity Market Discussion with Ed Usset
20:36 Ag Weather with Don Day, DayWeather.com

I’m Todd Gleason for University of Illinois Extension with a history of labor day in the United States. It’s adapted from a story found on the United States Embassy to Sweden’s website.

Eleven-year-old Peter McGuire sold papers on the street in New York City. He shined shoes and cleaned stores and later ran errands. It was 1863 and his father, a poor Irish immigrant, had just enlisted to fight in the Civil War. Peter had to help support his mother and six brothers and sisters.

Many immigrants settled in New York City in the nineteenth century. They found that living conditions were not as wonderful as they had dreamed. Often there were six families crowded into a house made for one family. Thousands of children had to go to work. Working conditions were even worse. Immigrant men, women and children worked in factories for ten to twelve hours a day, stopping only for a short time to eat. They came to work even if they were tired or sick because if they didn't, they might be fired. Thousands of people were waiting to take their places.

When Peter was 17, he began an apprenticeship in a piano shop. This job was better than his others, for he was learning a trade, but he still worked long hours with low pay. At night he went to meetings and classes in economics and social issues of the day. One of the main issues of concern pertained to labor conditions. Workers were tired of long hours, low pay and uncertain jobs. They spoke of organizing themselves into a union of laborers to improve their working conditions. In the spring of 1872, Peter McGuire and 100,000 workers went on strike and marched through the streets, demanding a decrease in the long working day.

This event convinced Peter that an organized labor movement was important for the future of workers' rights. He spent the next year speaking to crowds of workers and unemployed people, lobbying the city government for jobs and relief money. It was not an easy road for Peter McGuire. He became known as a "disturber of the public peace." The city government ignored his demands. Peter himself could not find a job in his trade. He began to travel up and down the east coast to speak to laborers about unionizing. In 1881, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, and began to organize carpenters there. He organized a convention of carpenters in Chicago, and it was there that a national union of carpenters was founded. He became General Secretary of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America.

The idea of organizing workers according to their trades spread around the country. Factory workers, dock workers and toolmakers all began to demand and get their rights to an eight-hour workday, a secure job and a future in their trades. Peter McGuire and laborers in other cities planned a holiday for workers on the first Monday in September, halfway between Independence Day and Thanksgiving Day.  On September 5, 1882 the first Labor Day parade was held in New York City.

The September 4, 2026, edition of the *Closing Market Report*, hosted by Todd Gleason on Illinois Public Media, reviews commodity market movements, agricultural news, and regional weather patterns heading into the Labor Day weekend. Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics discusses softer corn, soybean, and wheat trade amid an accelerating early Midwest harvest, while evaluating upcoming USDA crop production estimates, geopolitical developments in the Black Sea and Middle East, and potential volatility surrounding U.S.-China relations. In agricultural news, Gleason covers the 2026 National Cover Crop Report showing expanded acreage among growers, followed by USDA research entomologist Alex Arp detailing "Novafly"—a new genetic strain engineered to eliminate female embryos and optimize sterile male production for New World screwworm eradication. Concluding the broadcast, Nutrien Ag Solutions meteorologist Eric Snodgrass outlines persistent late-summer heat and drought stress across the Corn Belt and Western United States, sluggish Atlantic hurricane activity linked to El Niño, and irregular rainfall patterns threatening early soybean planting across South America's Center West.

00:56 Ag Markets with Mike Zuzolo, Global Commodity Analytics
08:38 WILLAg News | Cover Crop Usage Up & a New Way to Control NWS
11:34 Ag Weather with Eric Snodgrass, Nutrien Ag Solutions

The September 3, 2026, broadcast of the *Closing Market Report*, hosted by Todd Gleason, covers commodity price movements, farm financial projections, federal data initiatives, and severe weather patterns affecting agriculture. Matt Bennett of AgMarket.net analyzes the day's market dynamics, highlighting how grain futures rebounded from early-session lows as speculative buying met profit-taking ahead of the three-day holiday weekend, while noting that late-season heat is rapidly advancing crop drydown without heavily damaging early-planted corn. Looking ahead to 2026 and 2027 budgets, University of Illinois agricultural economist Nick Paulson reports that while higher corn and soybean prices are driving positive projected net returns in Central and Northern Illinois, rising input costs—especially for fertilizer and fuel tied to Middle Eastern geopolitical conflict—continue to keep overall margins below long-term historical averages of $100 per acre. From the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, USDA Under Secretary Scott Hutchins details the agency's four-pillar data modernization initiative aimed at reducing survey burdens on farmers, utilizing satellite and NASA geospatial imagery for yield forecasts, eliminating cross-agency redundancy through AI and advanced analytics, and improving reporting transparency. Concluding the report, meteorologist Mike Tannura of Tstorm Weather warns of historic late-season heat running 8 to 10 degrees above normal across the U.S. Corn Belt, while pointing to an exceptionally strong El Niño pattern that is bringing unseasonable early rains to central Brazil and heavy precipitation to southern South American grain belts.

01:50 Ag Markets with Matt Bennett, AgMarket.net
07:12 farmodc 2027 Corn and Soybean Returns
13:48 USDA Announces Data Modernization Plan
16:22 Ag Weather with Mike Tannura, Tstorm Weather