Closing Market Report

The Closing Market Report from June 9, 2026, details a recent sell-off in commodity markets, with corn, soybean, and wheat prices returning to January lows due to the current absence of a weather premium. The upcoming WASDE report is expected to reflect strong export sales and potential adjustments to old crop carryouts, while technical support levels suggest potential short-term recovery bounces. In agricultural news, the Senate is developing legislation for year-round E15 sales to match a recently passed House bill, and the shipping company Maersk has successfully tested 100% ethanol as a bunker fuel in Rotterdam. Meanwhile, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is projected to reach its lowest volume since the 1980s, and a Wisconsin farmland auction yielded nearly $22,000 per acre. Furthermore, the rapid expansion of large-scale data centers in the Midwest has prompted significant local and state regulatory pushback regarding energy and water consumption, leading to temporary development moratoriums and the proposed repeal of tax incentives in states such as Illinois and Michigan. Finally, the agricultural weather forecast predicts severe thunderstorms and heat across the northern plains and upper Midwest, which will shortly be followed by a transition to cooler, drier conditions driven by air masses from south-central Canada.

- Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, TotalFarmMarketing.com
- WILLAg News Update for June 9, 2026
- Lawmakers Rush to Regulate Data Center Development
- Ag Weather with Don Day, DayWeather.com

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Host

Todd E. Gleason🎙🇺🇸

University of Illinois

What is Closing Market Report?

Established 1985

The Closing Market Report airs weekdays at 2:06pm central on WILL AM580, Urbana. University of Illinois Extension Farm Broadcaster Todd Gleason hosts the program. Each day he asks commodity analysts about the trade in Chicago, delves deep into the global growing regions weather, and talks with ag economists, entomologists, agronomists, and others involved in agriculture at the farm and industry level.

website: willag.org
twitter: @commodityweek

cmr260609

- Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, TotalFarmMarketing.com
- WILLAg News Update for June 9, 2026
- Lawmakers Rush to Regulate Data Center Development
- Ag Weather with Don Day, DayWeather.com

Todd Gleason: From the Land Grant University in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, this is the Closing Market Report. It is the ninth day of June 2026. I’m Illinois Extension’s Todd Gleason. Coming up, we’ll talk about the commodity markets with Naomi Blohm. She’s at TotalFarmMarketing.com out of West Bend, Wisconsin. I’ll tell you a bit about the agricultural news for the day, including how E15 has been making its way through parts of the Senate. The House has already passed that kind of bill. The Senate is working hard to figure out how to pass its counterpart and then to get together with the House so that it can be moved on to the President’s desk, or maybe not. We’ll also hear more about ethanol as it’s related to global shipping. Maersk has successfully used 100% ethanol as a bunker fuel out of the Rotterdam port in Europe. Then we’ll turn our attention back to the United States. Abigail Bottar, the ag and environment reporter here at Illinois Public Media, has been following data centers this spring, and now the regulations that county boards and states are considering. Then as we wrap up our time together, we’ll take a look at the weather forecast with Don Day. He’ll tell us about the hot weather we’ll have over the next several days. If you’re in parts of the upper Midwest, severe weather may come along with that, and then things will cool down and dry out next week. He’ll have all the details on this Tuesday edition of the Closing Market Report from Illinois Public Media. It is public radio for the farming world, online on demand at willag.org.

01:43 Ag Markets with Naomi Blohm, TotalFarmMarketing.com

Todd Gleason: Naomi Blohm from TotalFarmMarketing.com out of West Bend, Wisconsin, now joins us for a Tuesday to take a look at the marketplace. Hi, Naomi. Thanks for being with us.

Naomi Blohm: Thank you for having me.

Todd Gleason: Let’s talk about the marketplace for today and what took place. It seems like it was fairly calm. Why do you suppose that was the case?

Naomi Blohm: It feels like the market is trying to make sure that we have some firm footing here for the short term. For corn, soybean, and wheat prices, we had that huge sell-off over the last two weeks. We’re back down to the January lows. This should be good support in the short term. We have no weather premium in the market at all anymore. Hopefully, we see a bit of a recovery bounce over the next two weeks heading into the WASDE report, and then also just a recovery bounce from the standpoint of needing to put some weather premium back into the market. But just a warning that any kind of a recovery bounce that we get, oftentimes when we head into Father’s Day weekend, June 20th and 21st, sometimes the marketplace has a tendency to sell off lower again after that weekend as we glimpse into the first forecasts for July and weather. If we see the bounce, make sure you’re taking an opportunity for cash sales.

Todd Gleason: You mentioned the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates, or the WASDE report. It is due out at 11:00 AM Central this Thursday morning on the 11th. What kind of expectations for any changes do you have at this point?

Naomi Blohm: I’ll be curious to see if there are any adjustments with old crop. The export sales for corn have been fantastic. There’s always the question regarding demand for feed, if that number should come down. So, we’ll want to see where they have old crop corn carryout. For new crop, I don’t think they’ll do a lot of adjusting. They usually don’t make any big adjustments to yield unless we’ve had a dramatic spring, like what happened in 2019 when it was so wet. I’m not looking for too many adjustments for new crop. On soybeans, our export sales have picked up and we are at projections for the USDA. That crush number might continue to be even stronger on the demand side for old crop, maybe even new crop. I’m hoping we see a friendly tone for soybeans on the report on Thursday. With wheat, we’ll want to see if there are any additional production cuts for the winter wheat with just as bad as the drought had been out in the Southern Plains.

Todd Gleason: On the soybeans, do you suppose fundamentally there is support under the marketplace at this point?

Naomi Blohm: The big picture answer is that for the November beans, there is tremendous support at $11. We are about 30 cents away from $11. But with the sell-off that we’ve had so far, we are competitive for exports again to China. I strongly feel that China is going to come in late August and buy American ag products really handily and with gusto. There may be some two-sided trade action here in the short term over the next couple of weeks. Any kind of a bounce that we see, just like corn, soybean futures do have a tendency to work lower after Father’s Day weekend. If we get down to that $11 handle, I feel that is tremendous support. Regarding the biofuels, the question is how much adjusting will the USDA do on crush demand, knowing that we still have the hurdle with RVOs to get through as well. I think there won’t be an adjustment lower. It’ll just be a matter of what kind of tweaking they do, if any, to show that the demand is still there.

Todd Gleason: Am I hearing you correctly that while there is support, it’s lower than where we are? The marketplace sometimes turns lower, particularly if we don’t have a weather premium going into the summer months here in the United States right through August. It depends on from what point does it bounce higher?

Naomi Blohm: That’s exactly it. Right now, the November beans have been swirling around the 100-day moving average near the $11.40 area. If by chance that can’t hold as a support area, prices could slide lower to the 200-day moving average, which is $11.15. The question is what kind of trade action do we see on any kind of a recovery bounce as we get to those support levels. Ultimately, $11 on this November 2026 contract is a tremendous uptrend support line, which has been established essentially since November of 2024. It’s a big deal. It’s a good support area. I think that will hold until we know for sure where our acres numbers are going to be and what the August weather will be. I’m a bit of a realist here in the short term that prices may have a little recovery bounce, but with the funds exiting the long positions in the amount that they have, they’re in the seasonal sell-off mode. They’re saying to the market, the weather has to prove otherwise that the crop is not good, otherwise prices could just continue to grind lower until mid to late August when for the past two years we have found a very significant harvest low. Take advantage of any short-term recovery bounces that we might see over the next two weeks and be sure to make some additional cash sales.

Todd Gleason: What are the technical chart points for corn?

Naomi Blohm: On the December corn futures, what I’m watching there is we’re back down to the January low, which pretty much was the low from last August as well for this December 2026 contract. A recovery bounce I think to $4.70 is very likely, and at best maybe the $4.75 area because there is a pretty strong downtrend line that comes into the $4.75 price point area. The 100-day moving average is now also going to be resistance in conjunction with that downtrend line. Somewhere between $4.70 and $4.75 I think would be the recovery bounce, and then make sure you get those cash sales made. Here’s where I’m going to be the Debbie Downer, and I hate to say it, but the last two years when December corn futures finally found their low, it was at or slightly below the $4 price point in mid to late August. If we can get that bounce, make sure you’re taking advantage of it.

Todd Gleason: Thank you much. We appreciate it, Naomi. That’s Naomi Blohm. She is at TotalFarmMarketing.com.

09:31 Senator Thune says E15 Bill in the Works

Todd Gleason: In today’s agricultural news, the Senate majority leader says a new E15 bill is in the works. Senators are working on a bill to allow year-round sale of E15, a higher ethanol blend, says Senate majority leader John Thune. The Senate Agriculture Committee does not expect to include the E15 provision in its farm bill legislation. However, the South Dakota Republican says meetings on the issue are underway. The Senate is working to take up the issue after the House narrowly passed a stand-alone E15 measure last month, 218 to 203. Its E15 bill would revamp parts of the federal Renewable Fuel Standard. Specifically, the House of Representatives version would shrink the number of biofuel blending exemptions for small oil refineries. This is commonly called an SRE, for small refinery exemption.

10:21 Maersk Successfully Tests 100% Ethanol Fuel

Todd Gleason: Now let’s stay with ethanol for a moment. Maersk’s Laura Maersk containership has successfully operated on 100% ethanol during bunker fuel trials. Unlike earlier tests, the latest bunkering operation took place in Rotterdam in early June on a larger scale with fuel delivered by a barge. Assessments of operational procedures, supply chain readiness, and fuel handling were conducted under realistic conditions. The Laura Maersk vessel has already been central to a series of alternative fuel trials. Last fall, it tested a new fuel blend consisting of green methanol mixed with 10% ethanol. That followed by a further onboard trial in December using 50/50 ethanol and methanol. Ethanol is one of several potential fuels being explored as part of a broader effort to diversify the company’s low emissions fuel portfolio.

11:15 Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Lowest Level Since Inception

Todd Gleason: On that note, let’s stay with fuels. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, or SPR, is on track this week to fall to its lowest level since it was filled for the first time in the 1980s. This as the Trump administration continues its emergency drawdown to mitigate the loss of the Strait of Hormuz crude. As of late Friday, there were about 350 million barrels in the SPR, of which the US government has plans to release 172 million barrels. Later this year, the strategic reserve would drop down to just 243 million barrels.

11:55 Wisconsin Farm Sells for an Incredible Amount

Todd Gleason: And finally today, a Wisconsin farm has sold for a really large dollar figure. A recent farmland auction in south-central Wisconsin demonstrated the continued strength of high-quality agricultural land values. A 208-acre tract sold for nearly $22,000 per acre. The property, located about 15 miles south of Madison, sold in five tracts for a combined $4.55 million during an auction held in late April. About 50 bidders registered for the sale, including local farmers, investors, and potential rural homesite buyers. A local dairy farmer ultimately purchased all five tracts. That’s a look at today’s agricultural news.

12:54 Illinois Extension Summer Agronomy Days Schedule

Todd Gleason: Summer has arrived and that means it’s time for Agronomy Days across the state of Illinois. The U of I will kick off its season Thursday of this week on June the 11th at the Reeder Family Farms in McLean County. You can visit there for an overview of their agri-tourism operation. Take a look at the precision planted corn maze they have and how they do school tours, special events, and sponsorships. You can check it all out at the Reeder Family Farms. They’ll talk about sunflowers, zinnias, mums, apples, pumpkins, and so much more. The featured speakers will include Mohammad Babadoost and Kacie Athey from the U of I, along with James Santiago. Then on Wednesday, June 24th, that’s a couple of weeks away, the weed science program at the U of I invites everybody who’s interested in weed management to come to campus to the Clem Farm. That’s located on South 1st Street. At 8:00 AM for the weed science tour, you can find more information in the calendar at willag.org. Those are just a couple of the items that are coming up in the month of June. There will be Agronomy Days at the Orr Center in Western Illinois on July 15th, in July at Monmouth on the 22nd, and in Ewing on July the 23rd. All the details of those programs are online. You can search Agronomy Day and Crop Sciences at the University of Illinois, or just look in the calendar at willag.org.

14:37 Lawmakers Rush to Regulate Data Center Development

Todd Gleason: As you know, if you’ve been listening to our programs, the development of large-scale data centers is booming, particularly here in the Midwest. Now, analysis from the Pew Research Center finds the number of data centers in Illinois alone is set to double. But water and energy usage are rallying some communities against the data centers. As IPM’s Abigail Bottar reports, local and state governments are rushing to regulate this growing industry.

Abigail Bottar: More than 100 people packed into tight chambers for an Illinois County board meeting in April.

announce: I’m going to call this meeting of the Champaign County Board to order.

Abigail Bottar: They are here to support pressing pause on development of large-scale data centers, a move many communities have made in recent months. Dozens of people voiced concerns about the massive amounts of water and energy data centers use, including sixth-grader Samuel Tamori.

Samuel Tamori: We don’t need the AI as we need our water.

Abigail Bottar: The board unanimously passed the one-year moratorium. These debates surrounding data centers are playing out in communities across the Midwest and Great Plains. Concerns from environmental impacts to noise are spurring efforts to block the new development. In Missouri, one St. Louis suburb even voted out half of its city council after it approved a $6 billion data center deal. Newly elected Festus city council member Rick Bellville says he decided to run for office to bring more transparency to the project.

Rick Bellville: When somebody comes to town and says, “Hey, we’re going to give you millions of dollars and we’re going to build a data center,” then you need to slow down and get a full understanding of how the whole thing is going to affect the community.

Abigail Bottar: Now he’s working to put limits on water use for any new industry, including data centers that want to come to Festus. It’s not just local governments. State lawmakers are also pondering how to regulate data centers. Legislators in more than 20 states, including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, and Oklahoma, introduced bills this year to add guardrails to data center development.

Dave Owen: I think people are trying to catch up.

Abigail Bottar: That’s Dave Owen, a law professor at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies the energy impacts of data centers. He says this flurry of legislation stems from the outrage many communities feel when data center developers try to build in their backyard.

Dave Owen: I don’t think really anybody foresaw how much of a popular backlash there would be against data centers. Even a year and a half ago, a lot of state and local governments were very eagerly trying to court data centers.

Abigail Bottar: Analysis from the National Conference of State Legislatures found as of May, 38 states currently offer dedicated incentives meant to attract data centers. But several states are reconsidering. Illinois is one of them. Governor JB Pritzker praised the passage of tax incentives in 2019, but at a state of the state speech this year, he’s singing a different tune.

JB Pritzker: In the face of rising demand and surging prices, I’m proposing a two-year pause on authorization of new data center tax credits.

Abigail Bottar: After the Illinois legislature failed to act, Pritzker announced he’s implementing a tax incentive pause starting July 1st. Several other states, including Michigan, are considering a full repeal of their data center incentives, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Michigan’s tax incentives for data centers went into effect just last year. State Representative Dylan Wegela, a Democrat, is sponsoring legislation to repeal them, and it’s co-sponsored by a Republican.

Dylan Wegela: As people have started to see the bipartisan local pushback, a lot of legislators have changed their mind on this.

Abigail Bottar: But Michigan’s governor still supports data centers. That’s one reason Wegela doesn’t think his bills will pass. But he hopes communities will take up the effort and pass their own restrictions. That’s a heavy weight for individual communities to bear, according to Jonathan Koppes. He’s the director of the Gardner Agriculture Policy Program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Jonathan Coppes: This isn’t fair to put on a county board.

Abigail Bottar: He says the federal government should step in.

Jonathan Coppes: I do think it’s a really difficult thing even for states. Water flows, electricity flows across state lines.

Abigail Bottar: Federal legislation to pause data center development has been introduced, but the bill, sponsored by minority party members, is unlikely to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress. That means for now, these decisions about water, energy, and large-scale development will continue to be a patchwork of local and state laws. I’m Abigail Bottar, IPM News.

Todd Gleason: Abigail Bottar is the ag and environment reporter for Illinois Public Media. You may find more from her, including this story, at ipmnewsroom.org. You’re listening to the Closing Market Report on this Tuesday afternoon. Find us online at willag.org. Our theme music is written, performed, produced, and courtesy of Logan County, Illinois farmer Tim Gleason.

19:40 Ag Weather with Don Day, DayWeather.com

Todd Gleason: Let’s turn our attention to the agricultural weather forecast. Don Day is here. He’s with DayWeather from Cheyenne, Wyoming. Hello, Don. Thanks much for being with us. We have been following parts of the world near you. I think this may have an impact in your area as well. The northern plains, the Canadian prairies particularly, a long way between those two, but the northern plains had been dry for some of the canola and soybean in those areas. Can you talk to me about that and then work your way to the southeast through the corn belt?

Don Day: It is looking like those areas that you just mentioned drying out have been getting some help here over the last couple of days and we’ll be getting some more with some shower and thunderstorm activity. Unfortunately, some of it is going to be severe. We’re going to have a severe weather day today and tomorrow in the Dakotas and a good part of the upper Midwest. Some of this is going to get into the northern and northwestern corn belt. So we’re going to see that. There is some hope for some precipitation, and then behind that is a cooler, drier air mass that will settle in, only to be followed by another cooler air mass coming next week. If you look at the 7 to 10-day pattern, a lot of the Midwest, a lot of the central states, is going to see below-average temperatures.

Todd Gleason: Those are coming next week, but it’s going to be hot and we still have thunderstorms. I assume those are of the pop-up variety at this point in the afternoon. They feel like mid-summer thunderstorms as much as anything else. You tell me what’s behind this situation.

Don Day: Due to the fact that this cool front is fairly robust, there is going to be a fair amount of severe weather. For the next three days, especially the upper Midwest, then getting into the northern corn belt, then getting into the Great Lakes, there will be some of these thunderstorms that are going to get a bit stronger, a little bit more than the garden variety we’ve seen here lately.

Todd Gleason: And where will they primarily be located? You talked about the northwestern part of the corn belt. Do they drift further south than that?

Don Day: A little bit. So it’s going to be biased to the north. We’re talking Minnesota, Wisconsin, the eastern side of the Dakotas, eastern Nebraska, Iowa, then into a good part of the northern and western parts of Illinois and northern Missouri. Then we’re going to see a trend more northeastward into the Great Lakes region with the severe weather on the tail end of this.

Todd Gleason: And then comes the cooler weather, drier weather. How long do we sustain it, do you suppose?

Don Day: For a few days. Then what’s going to happen is we’re going to have a reloading of some cooler air. We’re going to see a fairly robust Hudson Bay low form as we get into the end of the weekend and early next week, and that’s going to pump the counterclockwise rotation of the air around that. It’s going to bring cool air out of south-central Canada and that’s going to settle into the northern plains and into the upper Midwest. Initially, it will be cooler, drier air, but as it goes further south, it will encounter some higher humidity air and we’ll see showers and thunderstorms pick up in parts of the Delta region and the southern plains.

Todd Gleason: Okay. Hey, thanks much. I appreciate it.

Don Day: Thank you.

Todd Gleason: You’re welcome. That’s Don Day. He’s with DayWeather in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Joined us on this Tuesday edition of the Closing Market Report that came to you from Illinois Public Media. It is public radio for the farming world, online on demand at willag.org. I’m University of Illinois Extension’s Todd Gleason.

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