On Friday's Market Talk, we start the show with Mike Castle, senior commodities economist at StoneX, to break down a rebound in grains to close out the first week of August. Mike explains why the wheat rally tied to Black Sea escalation between Russia and Ukraine has more room to run. He also details a massive week of new-crop soybean flash sales to China and shares a look at the fertilizer complex, where sulfur and ammonia supply disruptions tied to the Strait of Hormuz are already forcing plant closures, including a fresh announcement in Europe this week.

In Segment Two, Susan Littlefield joins us to share a broad market conversation with Heather Ramsey from The ARC Group as they look at the markets after the first week of August.

Then, Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek joins Friday's show to break down a volatile first week of August in the cattle complex. Scott discusses the stalled recovery in live cattle, why packer interest picked up briefly near $235-236, and why he expects late August and September to bring tougher trade. He also digs into early signs of heifer retention after years of talk without much movement, why packer margins could shift leverage back in their favor, and why lean hogs have struggled to capitalize on record beef demand.

On Thursday we saw corn and soybeans quietly higher, wheat, cattle, and hogs all lower. We start the show in Segment One with analysis from our Midday Commentary with Mike Castle, Senior Commodities Economist at StoneX.

Then, it's a new episode of Cattle Chatter with Susan Littlefield as she talks with Brad Kooima from Kooima Kooima Varilek, who breaks down the ongoing volatility, including the lack of open interest and the challenges facing the market. He also discusses the uncertainty surrounding the Fort Morgan plant, dry pastures across parts of the West while other areas are finally receiving rain, and what those conditions could mean for cattle supplies.

Then we talk with Bryan Doherty from Total Farm Marketing who discusses why corn may be closer to a breakdown than it looks, what next week's WASDE and FSA numbers could mean for direction, why the stock market rally isn't translating cleanly to livestock, and why he can't find a convincing bearish case for wheat right now. Later, Bryan continues his ongoing options strategy series with a breakdown of short call and short put options — what they are, how they work, and why they can be powerful tools for producers and end users alike.

Grain markets stayed mixed and quiet on Wednesday, with corn and beans slipping while wheat found a bid. DuWayne Bosse of Bolt Marketing joins Market Talk to dig into what's driving the action heading into harvest season — starting with the "great yield debate" now underway between analyst estimates and on-the-ground crop conditions across Iowa, Illinois, North Dakota, and South Dakota. He also covers the state of China's soybean purchase pace against its 25-million-metric-ton commitment, why the Black Sea wheat story could be a bigger deal moving forward, and where cattle stand after a brutal July.

Corn and grain markets sat quiet on Wednesday, but the real action was happening in the outside markets. Tommy Grisafi of Nesvick Trading and AgBull Media joins Market Talk to break down a massive stock market rally, gold's $150 surge, crude oil's sharp two-day slide, and what it all means for farmers watching their 401(k)s and their basis alike.

We saw the grain markets under pressure on Tuesday with soybeans as the downside leader while cattle rallied let session led by the feeder complex. Could we be finding a bottom in the cattle trade to start August? That's one of many topics we cover with Brian Splitt from AgMarket.net on today's show.

In Segment One, we also listen back to our Midday Commentary with Katy Doumit from StoneX who has thoughts on the crop condition ratings for grains and some perspective on the cattle trade as well. We close the show with news headlines in Segment Four.

On Monday's show, we talk markets with Mike Minor from Professional Ag Marketing in Segment One followed by weather with Eric Snodgrass in Segment Two. Then we get analysis and perspective from John Heinberg with Total Farm Marketing later in the show.

For Monday's Midday Commentary, we get a breakdown of the livestock complex with Katy Doumit from StoneX as she talks with our own Susan Littlefield.

We get Friday's show started to close out July with market analysis and perspective from Mike Castle, Senior Commodities Economist at StoneX. In Segment Two, we discuss the week in the cattle and hog markets and get perspective from Joe Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek. Then we spend the rest of the show talking about a wild month of market volatility and look at the ag economy with Chad Hart from Iowa State University.

Wheat was under pressure again on Friday with mixed action elsewhere. Mike Castle, Senior Commodities Economist with StoneX, joins us to break down the week and the end of the month trade action in grains, livestock and the macro markets.

On Thursday's show, we talk market action in Segment One with Darren Frye from Water Street Solutions followed by a new episode of Cattle Chatter with Susan Littlefield and Joe Kooima from KKV Trading in Segment Two. Then we talk markets, long call option basics and more with Bryan Doherty from Total Farm Marketing to finish out the show.

Wednesday on Market Talk we sit down with Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodity Analytics, to unpack a volatile midweek session — soybeans and corn lower, wheat mixed, cattle higher, and the Fed holding rates steady. Mike breaks down the ruble's slide against the dollar, fresh sanctions on Russia and Iran, an intense 24 hours of military escalation, why soybeans are giving back ground faster than corn, what the weather models mean for national yield, key technical levels in soybeans and December corn, and why he still sees feeder cattle as the market's leader heading into the border reopening.

We also get price perspective from Mike Castle, Senior Commodities Economist at StoneX, in Segment One and talk more broadly about the ag economy situation including upcoming ARC/PLC payments, soybean crush margins and more with David Widmar from Agricultural Economic Insights in Segment Two.