Grain futures ended the day with a split personality: soybeans and wheat were mixed, while corn gave back part of its earlier strength. Reports indicate early support in soybeans tracked higher crude oil prices before energy pulled off its highs, taking some momentum out of the oilseed complex. At the same time, traders kept one […]
Early 2026 crop insurance price signals may improve soybeans’ revenue-protection outlook relative to corn. Even in Montana, where corn and soy acres are smaller than the Midwest, those benchmarks can influence irrigated crop budgets, feed planning, basis expectations, and what lenders and landlords want to see in tight-margin years.
Live and feeder cattle futures closed the week with sharp Friday losses—feeders hit harder. Here’s what it could mean for Montana calf and yearling bids, basis, and risk-management decisions heading into spring marketing.
Montana’s sale barns still set the weekly tone for price discovery, but more cattle are moving through private treaty deals, dispersal/estate sales, and straight-across trades. Here’s how these off-auction channels can help ranchers manage freight, timing, biosecurity, and risk—without losing momentum on cash flow.
Cattle futures ended the week with a sharp selloff in both live and feeder contracts. While Montana cash prices don’t move tick-for-tick with the board, a late-week futures break can quickly change buyer behavior, basis, and the tone of early-week bids from the Hi-Line to the Yellowstone Valley.
Reports from national market analysts indicate corn and soybeans moved higher in overnight trade as crude oil continued to rally. That kind of cross-market move can feel far away from a calving pasture in the Bitterroot Valley or a feedyard pen in the Yellowstone Valley, but it has a way of showing up locally—through diesel […]
Midweek trading brought more red ink to the grain board, with reports indicating corn and other major grains moved lower during the session. For Montana producers, the day-to-day swings in Chicago don’t always translate directly into local cash prices, but they do shape feed costs, hay demand, and the tone of the cattle market—especially when […]
In Montana, a milk check can feel a lot like river flows in July: you can’t control the weather upstream, but you can manage what happens on your place. Milk pricing is influenced by national and global markets, federal milk marketing rules, processing capacity, and transportation realities—especially in a state where distance is always part […]
In Montana, a “good plan” can change between breakfast and the first pass with the sprayer. A wind shift can ground a spray rig. A surprise rain can push haying back a week. A rally in wheat can make a call to the elevator worth your time. And a sudden basis change can turn what […]
Across Montana, it doesn’t take much of a weather swing to turn a promising crop into a tough decision. A few weeks without meaningful moisture can stall growth, and one fast-moving hail cell can shred leaves, bruise stems, and knock heads to the ground. When both show up in the same season, the questions come […]