Market Talk

It was another solid week of trading in the cattle complex while grains and lean hogs were fairly quiet as we closed out the trade on Friday. Scott Varilek with Kooima Kooima Varilek joins us to discuss the week in the markets as we near the Christmas stretch. More at https://www.kkvtrading.com.

Also, we get reaction to the latest Cattle on Feed report being down 2% from last year with Kyle Bumsted from Allendale.

And as we look ahead to 2026, what problem are growers actually trying to solve with in-season nitrogen? How does timing and rate of application make a difference with your nitrogen strategy? And what are some common myths and misconceptions about the use of nitrogen? We explore all of these questions in a conversation with David Chaffin from Ever.Ag on today's show. Learn more at https://shorturl.at/VKNJK

As we get closer to ending 2025 and see the markets mostly entering into the holiday mode, we take a step back and discuss some common market terms and strategies to consider when it comes to managing your risk. Our professor for today's lesson is Bryan Doherty, Senior Market Advisor with Total Farm Marketing. Learn more at https://www.totalfarmmarketing.com.

Plus, we take a look at what is happening in the cattle markets as we near the end of the week and month. It's an all new episode of Cattle Chatter as our own Susan Littlefield sits down again this week with Brad Kooima from Kooima Kooima Varilek out of Sioux Center, IA. More at https://www.kkvtrading.com.

We see mixed to higher action in corn and wheat while soybeans continue to struggle. Meantime, we have new Consumer Price Index data to discuss and we see a mixed tone in livestock trade. Arlan Suderman from StoneX joins us for our Midday Commentary.

Crude oil, wheat and soybeans are leading most of the market related headlines at midweek as we watch geopolitical news, technical factors and more weighing on these markets specifically. Mike Zuzolo with Global Commodity Analytics joins us to go through the midweek action, discuss chart relationships and much more across the grain and livestock trade. Find more online by visiting https://www.globalcommresearch.com.

We see mixed to lower action in Wednesday's market trade with soybeans under pressure once again. Arlan Suderman, Chief Commodities Economist at StoneX, joins us to discuss the market action, the latest on crude oil and more.

As we near the end of the year, the cattle market has really been the star of the markets in 2025. But that doesn't mean that high prices bring high profitability, does it? That's one of many questions we explore on today's show with Tyler Schau from AgMarket.net. We also look at the general grain market action as we work towards the holiday season.

Also in Segment Two, we get grain market analysis along with a look at sour economic data out Tuesday and some news for the fertilizer markets with Mike Castle, Lead Market Intelligence Project Manager for StoneX.

Monday's market action had a bit of a "risk-off" flavor to it, especially in the grains and oilseeds. However, we did finished somewhat mixed on the session as we've hit the halfway point of December and the downhill slide to the holidays. John Heinberg with Total Farm Marketing joins us to discuss the markets as we get the week started. Learn more at https://www.totalfarmmarketing.com.

With a warm up on the way this week, could that mean a sloppy and muddy mess just in time for Christmas? Also, what do some of the longer range models show us as we move into January? Eric Snodgrass with Nutrien Ag Solutions joins us to discuss on our Market Talk Weekly Weather Update. Find more online at https://www.ag-wx.com.

Also to start the show, could we see the a continued rally and uptrend in the cattle complex as we close out 2025 and look ahead to January? Does high price equal profitability right now? Brady Huck with Advance Trading joins us to discuss the cattle markets and share perspective on the holiday grain trade as well as we start the week.

We see a somewhat "risk-off" sentiment in the grain markets on Monday while we also await a slew of economic data to get released this week. Arlan Suderman, Chief Commodities Economist at StoneX, joins us to discuss in our Midday Commentary for Monday, December 15th, 2025.

On Friday's Market Talk, we examine the week in the livestock trade and talk markets with Joe Kooima from KKV Trading. Then, we take a broader look at the markets and ag economy with Chad Hart from Iowa State University.

On today's show, we start in segment one with analysis from Arlan Suderman from StoneX that we got during our Midday Commentary and follow that up with a new episode of Cattle Chatter in Segment Two with Susan Littlefield and Brad Kooima.

Then, we sit down for a look at the week in the market trade and talk risk management with Bryan Doherty from Total Farm Marketing to close the show.