While producers were aggressive sellers of soybeans last fall, they remained reluctant to move corn or wheat, leading to a buildup of inventory on the farm, CoBank said in a Thursday report.
Company ownership of soybeans in commercial storage jumped to 73.6% as of Nov. 30, up from 66.3% the year prior as farmers sold soybeans at a faster pace, the Colorado-based bank said, citing collateral monitoring reports of grain company customers as of Nov. 30, 2025. CoBank’s data set includes grain companies from around the U.S. that provide monthly borrowing base position reports. The surveys do not include farmers’ marketing positions for commodities stored on-farm.
The share of soybean bushels in commercial storage that were enrolled in delayed pricing programs and basis contracts also fell last fall as farmers priced soybeans during the market rally following the trade truce between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the report said.
Participation in delayed-pricing for soybeans was also down, partially as a result of market uncertainty ahead of the Oct. 30 trade truce, while elevators also limited DP programs due to the risk of owning unpriced bushels in a carry market, the report said. In a DP program, the farmer transfers title to the elevator with the option for the farmer to set futures and basis at a later date while paying the elevator a monthly service fee.
Farmers were less eager to price corn and wheat last fall. Company ownership of corn in commercial storage as of Nov. 30 dropped to 73%, down from 77% a year earlier. Wheat fell to 72% from 75%. Farmers increased use of both DP and basis contracts for corn and wheat as they left prices open in hopes of future recoveries in price. That lack of farmer selling supported cash basis for both crops in some regions, the report said, though the increase in bushels waiting to be priced signals more selling pressure lies ahead, CoBank said.
In line with USDA’s Grain Stocks report, which showed a record number of bushels stored off-farm, CoBank customers also reported large increases in total bushels. The USDA data showed a larger share of soybeans and wheat were stored off farm relative to 2024, implying farmers made more room on-farm to store a record corn crop.
Total U.S. corn stocks on Dec. 1 were record-high at 13.3 billion bushels, up 10% year over year (YOY). The share of the crop stored off-farm on Dec. 1 fell to 34.5%, down from 37% the year before. Off-farm corn stocks were 4.58 million bushels, up 3.9% YoY and the highest in seven years while on-farm storage increased 13.5% YoY to 8.699 billion bushels.
CoBank noted U.S. soybean stocks on Dec. 1 also rose to 3.29 billion bushels, up 6.1% YoY and the highest in seven years with off-farm stocks tallied at 1.71 billion bushels, up 9.9% YoY and the highest in six years. The share of the soybean crop in off-farm storage climbed to 52.1%, up from 50.3% in 2024 to hit a five-year high. Total U.S. wheat stocks on Dec. 1 were tallied at 1.675 billion bushels, up 6.5% YoY and the highest in six years with 73.4% of the crop stored off farm, up from 70.3% last year and the highest in four years.
“Any material increase in corn and wheat prices will likely be met with heavier selling pressure compared to soybeans that already experienced a higher level of farmer selling last fall,” CoBank said. “The Any material increase in corn and wheat prices will likely be met with heavier selling pressure compared to soybeans that already experienced a higher level of farmer selling last fall. The increase in on-farm storage for corn in particular implies there is more corn in the countryside also waiting to be priced, pressuring both flat price and basis.
Ukraine wheat faces deep freeze: Extremely low temperatures, falling as low as 30 degrees Celsius, or minus-22 degrees Fahrenheit, are expected to hit Ukraine early next week, posing a danger to winter crops, Reuters reported, citing analysts and the country’s national emergency service. A sharp drop in temperature is set for Feb. 1, affecting all regions except southern Ukraine, with the frosts to ease slightly only on Feb. 4, the service said on the Telegram messenger. “We consider the current cold spell to be extremely dangerous for winter crops across a significant part of Ukraine,” analyst Barva Invest said on Telegram.
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