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Farmer optimistic that grain prices have not reached their peak

A southwest Illinois farmer is optimistic towards corn and soybean prices in 2021 after reflecting on price jumps in 2020.

Daryl Cates tells Brownfield he sold a lot of corn last spring around $3 and soybeans around $9 anticipating those to be the cap.

“No one ever dreamt we would see the prices move like they did.”

On Tuesday, in the St. Louis area, beans were over $13 and corn was just over $5. Cates says the question now is how much higher will prices go.

“Some people are still thinking that we are going to see $15 old crop soybeans, I think that is a little too optimistic, but I really believe we might see $14 beans and my gut had originally told me $5 corn, but we broke through that so I’m not sure where corn might go to.”

Cates, who serves as a director for the American Soybean Association continues to watch weather in Brazil and Argentina, anticipating that will have a large  impact on the market.