For Nate Meixell, Lake Crystal, Minnesota (Blue Earth County) Friday, September 18, 2026. Filed by The MI Farm AI Desk.
Weather, Blue Earth County, MN
What this means for today: Showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a high near 63. Wind 8 to 15 mph through the day (see the hour by hour table below). Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible. Source: NOAA National Weather Service via the MI Farm AI weather layer for Blue Earth County, MN, pulled this morning. Hour by Hour, the day ahead
Source: NOAA National Weather Service hourly forecast and station observations, pulled this morning. Wind this morning at your nearest weather station was about 5 mph. Rain WindowWe could not get a reading right on your field this morning. The nearest weather station (Mankato MN, about 11 miles northeast) recorded 0.18 inches in the past 24 hours. Your own ground may differ, so check your gauge. Corn Today
Cash bid, your nearby buyers (best net after haul first)
Cash bid is each buyer's own posted local price (the local cash plus basis). Ranked best net after haul first (net is the cash bid minus the cost to truck it there). Patronage is money a co-op pays back on the bushels you deliver, often a few cents a bushel.
Local cash bids, as of 2026-09-18.
Grain and Livestock, corn, soybeans, wheat, cattleCal's Grain Call: Price a portion of 140,000 bu corn at $5.17/bu via POET Lake Crystal (a recommendation, see the factors).Corn: Grain in the bin is 2025 old crop corn; in September it prices on the old crop September board. Soybeans: Grain in the bin is 2025 old crop soybean; in September it prices on the old crop September board. Your whole farm money: about $1,031,556 net across your farm at today's board price. This is your complete-budget whole-farm net from the one farm-total writer, not the field boxes added up.
Source: CME livestock futures. Cal's Market ReadOvernight, corn slipped about 3 cents; and beans slipped about 17 cents. Recent trend, over the last 5 sessions, corn has eased and beans have firmed. That is the backdrop your cash bid is moving against. Here is our read on why. Cutting the other way, demand still reads firm per USDA Farm Service Agency: USDA Designates 15 Virginia County as a Natural Disaster Area with 2 Contiguous Counties in North Carolina. Honest truth, the tape does not hand us one clean reason today, so take this as our best read, not gospel. Stocks point lower into the open, S&P futures off about 0.3 percent. A softer tape can tighten the credit and input-cost mood your lender watches, worth a glance, but it does not set your cash bid. Cal Wall Street, yesterday's close
WHY IT MATTERS FOR YOUR FIELDS Decision DeliveredYour decisions for today and the week ahead:
What to Watch Today
From Cal's News DeskThe 8 stories that moved across the wires since yesterday's Brief, sourced, dated, and verifiable. Each one carries Cal's review, the same one the news page shows, with a link to read it straight from the source. 1. USDA Designates 15 Virginia County as a Natural Disaster Area with 2 Contiguous Counties in North Carolina
A severe drought has pushed the USDA to declare 15 Virginia counties, including Buchanan, Chesterfield, Henrico, Lee, and Suffolk, as a natural disaster area, with contiguous counties in North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia also qualifying for help. The trigger was drought intensity that hit D2 Severe for at least 8 straight weeks or reached D3 Extreme or D4 Exceptional during the growing season. Under this fast track designation, the Farm Service Agency can now extend emergency loans that farmers can use to replace lost equipment or livestock, reorganize their operation, or refinance certain debts, with applications due by May 10, 2027. If you want to know whether you qualify or how to file a Notice of Loss, the article points you to tools on farmers.gov and your local USDA Service Center, so it is worth a full read before that deadline sneaks up.
Read the full article. USDA Farm Service Agency, Fri Sep 18, 2026 8:00 AM CT 2. Cattle, hog markets continue to struggle
Cattle and hog futures took another beating this week, with feeder cattle leading the slide as traders reacted to news that the New Mexico border crossing is set to reopen next week. A second screwworm case in a horse in southwest New Mexico turned up, though analysts at the Hightower Report say it should not derail that reopening. On the hog side, prices closed weak with heavy trading volume for a second straight day, and managed money already holds a big net short position that keeps the bears in control. Even with boxed beef cutout values ticking up on both Choice and Select, and strong feeder auctions hinting the pullback may just be a normal correction, this story matters for anyone weighing when to sell livestock or lock in feed costs.
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Fri Sep 18, 2026 8:47 AM CT 3. Export report good for corn, soybeans
Corn found solid support in the newest USDA export sales report, which showed a jump of 40.4 million bushels for the 2026/27 marketing year, according to Total Farm Marketing. The buying was led by three familiar customers, Mexico, Japan and Colombia, a healthy sign for demand as combines roll through the fields. Traders are also keeping one eye on harvest progress and the other on these overseas orders, since strong exports help clear the bins and firm up prices. On top of that, Bloomberg is warning that food prices are largely pointed higher for the rest of the year, a trend worth watching for anyone selling grain or buying groceries.
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Fri Sep 18, 2026 8:47 AM CT 4. Daybreak Sept. 18: Checkoffs get marching orders on ESG; dicamba FOIA lawsuit filed
USDA has ordered every federal checkoff program to drop environmental and ESG efforts and instead focus on production, producer profits, and market growth, with Secretary Brooke Rollins directly telling the National Dairy Board to end several green initiatives. All eyes now turn to the Sept. 24 White House meeting between Trump and China's Xi Jinping, where soybean farmers hope to nail down a firm, verifiable timeline for Beijing to honor its pledge of at least 25 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans a year through 2028. The American Soybean Association, led by President Scott Metzger, is pushing to scrap China's 10 percent retaliatory duty and to keep new port fees from choking off U.S. exports, while StoneX economist Arlan Suderman notes a few hundred million dollars is a cheap price for China if it gets what it wants. On top of the trade drama, a FOIA lawsuit has been filed over dicamba, making this a packed briefing that matters to your bottom line whether you are marketing beans or watching your weed control options.
Read the full article. Agri-Pulse, Fri Sep 18, 2026 8:08 AM CT 5. A mild to warm pattern to continue for many; a drier pattern ahead for much of the Corn Belt
Farmers across the country can expect temperatures running near or above normal over the next 6 to 10 days, with the Gulf Coast most likely to see unusual warmth. For much of the Corn Belt and the Mississippi Valley, drier conditions are on the way, with below normal rainfall expected in the days ahead. That dry stretch stands in sharp contrast to wetter weather forecast for the East and for areas stretching from central and southern California up into the High Plains. This shifting pattern matters for your fieldwork and harvest timing, so it pays to know whether rain is coming your way or holding off.
Read the full article. Brownfield Ag News, Fri Sep 18, 2026 8:00 AM CT 6. Warren Buffett steps down as Berkshire Hathaway chairman after six decades
Warren Buffett, at age 96, is handing over the chairman role at Berkshire Hathaway after running the company for about sixty years. He built Berkshire from a struggling textile maker into one of the most valuable businesses in the world, so this is a major changing of the guard. His son, Howard Buffett, who has served on the board for more than 30 years, is stepping up to take the chairman seat. Warren will not fully walk away, staying on as chairman emeritus and keeping his spot on the board of directors.
Read the full article. Washington Examiner, Fri Sep 18, 2026 7:06 AM CT 7. Charles 'Sounded Giddily Elated' Over Diana's Death: Earl Spencer
Earl Spencer, brother of the late Princess Diana, is set to release a memoir with a stunning claim about Prince Charles on the day Diana died. Spencer writes that Charles "sounded giddily elated, like a lottery winner," painting him as cold hearted behind palace walls. Buckingham Palace has fired back with a rare and strongly worded denial of the accusation. The story matters because it reopens old wounds in the royal family and pits Diana's brother against the man who is now King, as reported by NBC's Daniele Hamamdjian for TODAY.
Read the full article. NBC News, Fri Sep 18, 2026 6:48 AM CT 8. Lindsay Clancy's Husband and Holdout Juror Break Their Silence
Two years after a Massachusetts tragedy shook families everywhere, Lindsay Clancy's former husband and his new wife are speaking publicly for the first time since her mistrial, sharing their grief and how they are moving forward. At the same time, the single juror who refused to go along with the others is now telling his side of what happened behind closed doors. He explains why he held out and fought hard for a guilty verdict when the rest of the panel would not agree, a standoff that left the case unresolved. NBC's Emilie Ikeda pulls together both of these rare accounts in a TODAY report that finally gives voice to the people closest to a case that gripped the nation.
Read the full article. NBC News, Fri Sep 18, 2026 6:39 AM CT Around the WorldThe world news moving your markets this morning, the same read from Cal's desk that runs on your dashboard. China's August Soybean Imports Rise as Argentina Trims Harvest OutlookChina pulled in 12.14 million tonnes of soybeans in August, up 5.7 percent from July but slightly below last year, with eight month totals of 74.11 million tonnes just edging ahead of 2025's pace. Analysts credit Brazil's bumper harvest for keeping supplies flowing, even as China's pig herd shrinks and feed demand cools, leading most to expect full year imports to land flat or just under last year's record 111.83 million tonnes. Over in Argentina, the Rosario Grains Exchange nudged its soybean crop down to 47.8 million tonnes but bumped up corn to a range of 67.5 to 70.5 million tonnes, saying corn is winning the profitability battle for planting decisions. The exchange also raised its wheat forecast by 2.4 percent to 21 million tonnes on strong early crop conditions. Looming over all of it is a forecast record strength El Nino expected to peak this November or December, with ocean temperatures possibly running 3.5 to 4.0 degrees Celsius above normal, topping the old 2015 and 2016 record. That weather could bring severe flooding risk to southern Brazil and prolonged dryness with 40 degree heat to key states like Mato Grosso, which matters far more for next year's crop than this week's numbers do. global-agriculture.com (via world wire). Read the full story.Corn prices in Ukraine continue to fall amid weak export demandUkrainian farmers are watching corn prices slide, with purchase prices dropping by UAH 800 to 1,000 per ton since early September, now sitting at UAH 6,000 to 7,000 per ton at elevators and processing plants. The main culprit is weak export demand paired with sky high logistics costs, as delivery through the Danube ports or overland to Constanta has climbed to $100 to 140 per ton. Because of this, exporters are chasing more profitable crops like rapeseed, soybeans and sunflower seed, leaving corn and wheat behind. Despite the gloom, Ukraine shipped out 189 thousand tons of corn in the first half of September, a huge jump from just 20 thousand tons a year earlier, with Turkey, Italy, Germany, Cyprus and the Netherlands leading the buyers. Looking ahead, export prices for European bound corn have dropped to 170 to 175 euros per ton for the October to December window, though they firm up to 192 to 195 euros for early next year. The bigger picture matters to any grower, since faster US and EU harvests plus heavy shipments from Brazil and Argentina are flooding the world market and could keep prices pinned down for months to come. UkrAgroConsult (via world wire). Read the full story.Local ObituariesWe note the passing of neighbors across your area, gathered from the local papers this morning. Our thoughts are with their families. Shirley KrenikMankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.Earl WhiteMankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.Bull, James "Jim"Mankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.May, JeanMankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.Gerald CainMankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.SHAW, Darlene Sep 19, 1937, Sep 10, 2026Mankato Free Press obituaries. Read the full obituary.Cal's ReceiptCal's Receipt is the running ledger of every call this desk made for your farm, what was at stake, whether you followed it, and what it actually saved (or cost). Append-only, and every dollar cites its source. You will find it on your farm Dashboard, on the Farm Services desk. Open the Dashboard from the button at the bottom of this Brief. Today in Farm SafetyCarry a charged fire extinguisher in the combine and the tractor during harvest. Dry crop residue and a hot bearing or exhaust start most field fires. Blow chaff off the engine and exhaust daily, and keep a phone and water on board. Source: National Ag Safety Database; Iowa State University Extension. Cal The Coffee ShopToday in Farm History, Sears Roebuck catalog 1894In 1894, the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog reached 322 pages and became the rural farm-family general store. By 1908 Sears was selling mail-order houses; by 1918, mail-order Allis-Chalmers tractors. The catalog was rural America's Amazon for 80 years. Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History; Sears Archives at Hagley Museum. [CAL'S QUIZ]
By 1894, how many pages had the Sears, Roebuck and Company catalog grown to?
(a) 32 pages
(b) 120 pages
(c) 322 pages
(d) 1,000 pages
Answer at the bottom of the Brief. [CAL'S JOKE]
Why does an August rain on filling pods make a farmer smile silently? Because saying it out loud might jinx it. The smile is the secret signal.
The MI Farm AI Desk
Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, your AI Agronomist and Editor in Chief Quiz Answer(c) 322 pages. The catalog became rural America's general store. By 1908 Sears was selling mail-order houses; by 1918, mail-order Allis-Chalmers tractors. Source: Smithsonian National Museum of American History; Sears Archives at Hagley Museum.
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The MI Farm Brief is the independent daily farm intelligence brief that earns zero when you buy inputs. Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen is the editorial persona of the MI Farm AI desk, the AI-orchestrated production team that produces this Brief every working morning. The Monthly Receipt is signed by the Founder, MI Farm AI. Honest. Independent. Loyal. Transparent. The HILT Covenant.
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Signed by Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, Editor in Chief, The MI Farm AI Desk.