As Forrest Gump told us, “Shrimping is tough.” The same could be said for the US cattle/beef industry, particularly after it fell into the crosshairs of the US president late [...]

I’ve been asked about my recent comments regarding John Dickinson. Recall Mr. Dickinson was an American Founding Father from Pennsylvania. As a member of both the First and Second Continental [...]

*I posted this piece to Barchart this past week but thought it would also work for the Weekly Column on our website. I had a conversation with my friend Kyle [...]

It has been a couple months since I last wrote and posted a Weekly Column, making the title “Weekly Column” a misnomer in and of itself. Why the pause in [...]

Many years ago, while I still in the DTN Newsroom, I wrote a weekly On the Market column about what I called the Wider River Theory. This was back when [...]

This past week, I had the opportunity to work with my long-time friend Myra Saefong of MarkeWatch again. We had a lengthy conversation via email spanning many days, as each [...]

As you know, I spent the latter part of last week traveling to and from the Quad Cities area. I had been invited to speak at the Rock Island County [...]

Toward the end of January, I gave a market talk at the annual meeting of a local soybean processing company in Omaha. I filled the hour with talk of the [...]

Friday night into early Saturday morning, as the final hours of the Dog Days of Winter, also known as February, were set to wind down, the US president reportedly cried [...]

I was reminded by my friend Jesse Allen, host of the Agriculture of America talk show, that this week brings the 2026 edition of Commodity Classic, once again being held [...]

This is post number 20,000 to our website. When DTN and I parted ways back in June 2018, and Ben and I made the decision to start our own company, [...]

As I mentioned in Monday’s (February 2, 2026) Morning Commentary, the turn of the calendar page to February marks the beginning of the Dog Days of Winter in North America, [...]

This Weekly Column will be different than most. There won’t be any little puns, or pop culture references, or song lyrics. There is time for having some fun with commentary, [...]

The new year got rolling with a January 3 invasion of Venezuela by the United States. The reasons for the military action have been debated endlessly since, but as I’ve [...]

How is everyone doing with their New Year’s resolutions? If one of yours is the popular “lose weight”, and it includes the idea you will eat more salads and drink [...]

If I had to pick one word to describe 2025, as far as the commodity complex goes, it would be “historic”. In years past, the Softs sector stole the spotlight [...]

As we were driving back from Texas the Saturday after Newtonmas, my phone buzzed with a message from my son Ben. He had sent me an AP News story[i], “A [...]

Somehow, the end of another year is coming up fast in the windshield. Where 2025 went, I have no idea, but it is largely behind us now. Next week, I’ll [...]

Maybe it’s the time of year that has led to my ongoing reflection of markets, analysis, and life in general. Does it have something to do with the new year [...]

"Just heard Mica died from a heart attack." That was the message my older brother sent out late Monday night. Mica Schnoeblen was a prominent figure back in my hometown [...]

I had a long conversation with my friend in the brokerage industry last week. As we went through the commodity complex market by market, I found myself saying, “I don’t [...]

As I sit down to write this week’s Column, it is Sunday, November 30, the last day of meteorological fall. This tells us, unequivocally, winter is coming. Mondays are what [...]

My friend in the cattle industry called Monday afternoon to give me more information about the situation between the US administration and US beef packers, most notably Tyson. The stage [...]

When next week comes to an end (Sunday, November 30), the curtain will come down on the fall season. Fall, or autumn, means something different to most everyone. To some, [...]

I was recently asked if I would use some form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to write my commentary and/or analysis. The question came during a discussion of the various pieces [...]