China, Chosin, and Chernobyl
Like much of the rest of the world, and roughly half of the United States, I watched and listened to what President Biden had to say while announcing sanctions against [...]
Let Slip the Dogs of War
It’s early Sunday morning here in the United States, and as I start the process of this Column, on the other side of the world the Closing Ceremony of the [...]
Back in the USSR
We all watched as the probability of Russia invading Ukraine increased last Friday, with markets across the board responding as if it was the first time trading algorithms had seriously [...]
Corn and Porn
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I studied to be a lawyer. One of the books for required reading was “The Brethren: Inside the Supreme Court” [...]
Quantum Leap
“Hello, it’s me. I’ve thought about us for a long, long time…” Those of you of a certain age will recognized those words as the opening line from the song [...]
My Transitory Thoughts on Inflation
Inflation remains a hot topic with financial analysts sounding a lot like the old Bud Light “Tastes great!”, “Less filling” commercials as they argue over the terms “transitory” and “permanent”. [...]
The Madness of King Corn
My original plan for this Weekly Column was to write about how high input costs was going to change North American planted acres in 2022. But then I saw where [...]
The Capital
I’m putting aside my planned column on the socialist system that is the US grain industry. I spent most of the week pointing out the stupidity of the argument USDA [...]
Das Kapital
This past week I had a conversation with a good friend in the cattle industry, and I’ve been thinking about something he said ever since. I knew immediately it would [...]
2021: A Space Odyssey, Part 1
The recent run of dry weather, with some areas of the United States also experiencing extended summer warmth, has accelerated early harvest progress. By the time you read this it [...]
Hillary, Walter, and John
I’ve been working on this column for nearly two weeks. Every time I started to make headway, I would come upon a question I couldn’t answer, and I recalled fondly [...]
Wind of Change
Those of you who have been with me through the years will recall I’m an advocate of Chaos Theory. I was first introduced to the idea by James Gleick’s definitive [...]
Hail Caesars!
As the Ides of March saw the passing of the torch from Julius Caesar to Caesar August back in 44 BC, every year since 8 BC has seen midnight between [...]
Dog Days Ahead
August is known for a number of things; Being named after Caesar Augustus, the birth month of many famous folks through the ages (A short list including William Clark (1) [...]
All Things Considered
I’ve been working on a project since USDA released its June 1 stocks-on-hand report last Wednesday. This time around I’m taking a look at corn, with soybeans and wheat to [...]
Squeezing Shorts
My friend Mike Pearson invited me to be the guest on his “Farming in the 605” podcast, sponsored by South Dakota Corn. Late in the conversation, if my memory serves, [...]
Two Roads
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler, long I stood and looked down as far as I could to [...]
Waiting for Wheat Harvest
Somehow, the last day of May is upon us. It seems like only yesterday when Justin Timberlake’s singing of “It’s gonna be may (me)” was all over social media. Now, [...]
After the Tipping Point, Gravity
Following Tuesday’s close in the grain and oilseed complex, a day that saw old-crop July corn fall its daily limit 40 cents before closing 37 cents lower, the question on [...]
Everything is Transitory
The discussion over inflation grew louder last week after the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) both came in much higher than expected. I always get [...]
The Fine Line Between Equilibrium and Tipping
When we talk about equilibrium in the human sense, we are usually talking about balance and the important role one’s ears play in keeping us upright. When something happens to [...]
Putting the Fun in Fundamentals
From a fundamental point of view, this coming week is going to be “fun”. Now that May option expiration is out of the way, and the hilarity any option expiration [...]
Corn Comparisons
As hard as it is to believe, we have already passed the midpoint of meteorological spring here in North America. Yet as I type this out, the forecast for Omaha [...]
Forward Thinking
If you’ve been paying attention to ag media recently, you know talking about futures spreads and forward curves has become “cool”, much more so than it was 18 months ago. [...]