August 21, 2026
Grain Overview
Grain futures are seeing some pressure this morning as traders take profits following a strong week of gains. Corn and soybeans are also approaching overbought territory, which has slowed fresh buying heading into the weekend. Fundamentals remain supportive, and continued uncertainty surrounding crop size and global supplies is keeping some risk premium in the market.
September grain options expire today, which could create additional selling from in-the-money positions that traders don’t want converted into futures. September corn futures have a strategic number at $4.79 on the continuation charts. They tapped it yesterday and held near it but today will be another challenge.
Much of this week’s strength has come from the Pro Farmer Crop Tour, where corn yield potential and soybean pod counts have generally fallen below last year’s results across the areas surveyed. Minnesota turned out to have the best yield potential, but its corn yield of 199 BPA was still off almost 2% from last year’s record, although it stands almost 9% above the five-year average. Soybean pod counts were record-large and up 1% from last year. They will release their official numbers at 1:30
