For Mark Matuska, Milford, Iowa (Dickinson County) Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Filed by The MI Farm AI Desk.
Weather, Dickinson County, IA
What this means for today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 63. Wind 7 to 11 mph through the day (see the hour by hour table below). Source: NOAA National Weather Service via the MI Farm AI weather layer for Dickinson County, IA, pulled this morning. Hour by Hour, the day ahead
Source: NOAA National Weather Service hourly forecast and station observations, pulled this morning. Rain Window We could not get a reading right on your field this morning. The nearest weather station (Estherville IA, about 16 miles northwest) recorded no rain in the past 24 hours. Your own ground may differ, so check your gauge. Rain expected at your field: Next 24 hours: 0.00 inches expected Next 48 hours: 0.09 inches expected Next 72 hours: 0.15 inches expected Source: NOAA National Weather Service forecast and NOAA radar rainfall estimates, pulled this morning. Futures board reference (not your cash)
The board is a labeled futures reference, not your cash bid. Your cash and net after haul are below. Corn Today (Dec 2026 board)
Cash bid, your nearby buyers, ranked by net after haul, best first
Cash bid is each buyer's own posted local price (the local cash plus basis). Ranked by net after haul, best first (ties break to the shorter haul, then higher cash). 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 2026-09-23.
Soybeans Today (Nov 2026 board)
Cash bid, your nearby buyers, ranked by net after haul, best first
Cash bid is each buyer's own posted local price (the local cash plus basis). Ranked by net after haul, best first (ties break to the shorter haul, then higher cash). 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 2026-09-23.
Grain and Livestock, corn, soybeans, wheat, cattleCal's Grain Call: Price a portion of 69,700 bu corn at $5.16/bu via NEW Cooperative, Milford (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: The growing 2026 crop is new crop soybean; it prices on the November board.
Source: CME livestock futures. Cal's Market ReadOvernight, corn slipped about 8 cents; and beans slipped about 12 cents. Recent trend, over the last 5 sessions, corn has firmed and beans have firmed. That is the backdrop your cash bid is moving against. Here is our read on why corn and beans slipped overnight, and honestly the facts do not point to one clean cause. Our best assessment is the market is leaning on this week's U.S.-China meeting, per Tri-State Neighbor, where traders are betting on an extended trade truce and easier tariffs, which can keep buyers sitting on their hands. The other likely weight is record diesel costs squeezing ag transportation, per Brownfield Ag News, which pressures what farmers net at the bin. Stocks point lower into the open, S&P futures off about 0.8 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 7 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. Once cup closer to the finish line
Up in north-central Montana, this year's wheat harvest dragged on so long that one farmer said he could not remember ever working the field on his late August birthday. A brutally hot and dry summer stretched the season out, leaving growers weary and eager to finally cross the finish line and exhale. On top of the weather, farmers there are wrestling with high costs for fuel, hay, and machinery, all of which pile onto an already grinding year. It is a familiar struggle for anyone who works the land, and the writer's take on staying hopeful through it makes this one worth reading to the end.
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Wed Sep 23, 2026 9:00 AM CT 2. National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Day Proves This Kitchen Staple Can Do More Than You Think
On September 30, National Extra Virgin Olive Oil Day highlights how this pantry staple can go far beyond salad dressing, working in everything from frying eggs and baking cakes to finishing soups and even topping vanilla ice cream. The International Olive Council projects global consumption will hit 3.44 million tonnes in the 2025 to 2026 crop year, showing the oil is winning a wider audience even as expert Joana Lourenco calls it one of the kitchen's most underestimated ingredients. Extra virgin olive oil is the top grade, made by mechanical methods with free acidity no higher than 0.8 percent, yet no two bottles taste alike since variety, region and harvest can make an oil green, fruity, bitter or peppery. Brands like Filippo Berio are now pushing new formats such as spray bottles, olive oil shots and truffle flavored versions, so the real message is to stop treating the oil as a bland background fat and start tasting what sets each bottle apart.
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Wed Sep 23, 2026 8:49 AM CT 3. Traders watching this week's U.S.-China meeting
All eyes are on this week's sit down between US and Chinese leaders, where talk may center on extending the current trade truce and easing existing tariffs. Total Farm Marketing noted that traders are betting these discussions could open the door to real progress on the tariff front. On the board Wednesday, corn futures found some late session strength but still finished lower, slipping between 1 and a half and 2 and a quarter cents across all contracts. For corn growers, the outcome of this meeting could shape export demand from China, so it is worth watching how the talks unfold.
Read the full article. Tri-State Neighbor, Wed Sep 23, 2026 8:46 AM CT 4. Diesel costs reshaping the price of ag transportation
Farmers are facing a fresh squeeze as record diesel prices ripple far beyond the fuel tank, according to David Widmar of Agricultural Economic Insights. On the latest Managing for Profit episode from Brownfield Ag, Widmar breaks down how those elevated costs are reshaping the price of moving grain, inputs, and equipment across the country. He warns the long-term effects will settle into the entire economy, not just the farm gate, meaning higher transportation bills could stick around. If you haul corn or beans, this one is worth a listen to understand what those diesel dollars are really costing you down the line.
Read the full article. Brownfield Ag News, Wed Sep 23, 2026 8:00 AM CT 5. Global Sorghum Conference Connects Crop Research and Market Opportunities for US Producers
Lubbock, Texas welcomed more than 400 researchers, producers and industry leaders from 20 countries on Sept. 14 to 18 for the 2026 Global Sorghum Conference, the first time this global event landed on U.S. soil, hosted by Texas Tech University with backing from the United Sorghum Checkoff Program. Much of the week zeroed in on water, since sorghum's drought tolerance is its edge when moisture runs short, and researchers dug into genetics, breeding and management to keep the crop productive under heat and dry conditions. Leaders like Tim Lust and Dr. Ethan Triplett pointed to real money-making angles, including sorghum silage that could open new demand from dairies and livestock, plus a growing ethanol and biofuel market that gives growers more selling options at home. The gathering also served up sorghum on the plate through an international dinner and chef workshops, spotlighted the next generation of scientists, toured local fields and a dairy, and set the stage for Australia to host the next conference in 2029.
Read the full article. Morning Ag Clips, Wed Sep 23, 2026 8:57 AM CT 6. DOJ fights lawsuit challenging Trump's White House media ban: Access is a 'privilege'
The Trump administration is fighting in court to keep its ban on CNN, MS Now, and Politico from the White House, telling U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly that entry to the grounds is a "privilege not a right" and can be denied on national security grounds. The three outlets sued to protect their First Amendment rights after Trump revoked their hard passes Friday, accusing them of publishing "FICTION and LIES" including details on an East Wing bunker, Iran war talks, and Secret Service ballroom plans. DOJ counsel Michael Velchik leaned on an earlier ruling that let the White House bar the Associated Press over the "Gulf of America" naming fight, arguing the same logic covers the whole complex. A hearing is set for Wednesday afternoon, the outlets have until 5 p.m. Friday to challenge the findings, and the standoff has already knocked out network pool coverage so badly that Trump's own South Lawn livestream lost its audio feed.
Read the full article. The Hill, Wed Sep 23, 2026 7:30 AM CT 7. Trump defends Iran war and threatens annihilation at UN General Assembly
At the UN General Assembly, President Trump defended the U.S. Israeli war with Iran, calling Tehran the former bully of the Middle East and warning he could annihilate the Islamic Republic if no deal is reached after the midterm elections. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he does not trust more negotiations, even as talks continued between Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. In a major turnaround, Trump signed a deal with Denmark and Greenland that adds two new U.S. bases, boosts NATO presence in the Arctic, and permanently bans Chinese and Russian investment, all without stripping Danish sovereignty. Meanwhile Iranian backed Houthis struck a Yemen market and threaten shipping choke points at both Bab al-Mandab and Hormuz, while outgoing U.N. chief Antonio Guterres warned in his final address that global cracks have become canyons and that AI now demands cooperation, not rivalry.
Read the full article. PBS NewsHour, Tue Sep 22, 2026 5:55 PM CT Around the WorldThe world news moving your markets this morning, the same read from Cal's desk that runs on your dashboard. Grain Association urges Ukraine to scrap 10% soy, rapeseed export dutyUkraine's soybean and rapeseed exports have tumbled sharply, and the country's biggest grain group says a government tax is to blame. The Ukrainian Grain Association is now pushing the Verkhovna Rada and the government to scrap the 10% export duty on both crops. The numbers tell the story, with soybean exports falling to 2.7 million tonnes this season from 3.8 million the year before, and rapeseed dropping to 1.82 million tonnes from 3.2 million. The association argues the duty skims revenue off the whole production chain and hits small and medium farmers hardest, squeezing the cash they need for loans, land rent, fuel, fertilizer, and wages. Officials did make it easier for farmers to claim an exemption on their own homegrown crops through the State Agrarian Registry, but the group says that fix falls short because much of the grain still moves through traders who get taxed anyway. For an Iowa farmer, it is a window into how a major competitor's export policy shapes the world oilseed market and the prices you may see back home. Interfax-Ukraine (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. William 'Bill' SchugDickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.Janice ClarkDickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.Dorothy 'Diane' BrumleyDickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.David Edward RowlandDickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.Doug PringnitzDickinson County News obituaries. Read the full obituary.Marcia SchumacherDickinson County News 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 SafetyKnow your overhead clearance before you raise an auger, an elevator, or a grain truck bed. Contact with a power line is often instantly fatal. If equipment does touch a line, stay on the machine and call for help, do not step off unless fire forces you, then jump clear with feet together and shuffle away. Source: Safe Electricity; National Ag Safety Database. Cal The Coffee ShopToday in Farm History, Haber-Bosch ammonia synthesis 1909In 1909, Fritz Haber demonstrated the synthesis of ammonia from atmospheric nitrogen at the University of Karlsruhe. Carl Bosch industrialized it by 1913. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer made possible the 5x corn yield increase since 1933, and today feeds roughly half the world's population. Source: USDA Agricultural Research Service; American Society of Agronomy. [CAL'S QUIZ]
The 1937 Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act funded the purchase of submarginal land for conservation, how many acres ultimately?
(a) 1.1 million
(b) 11.3 million
(c) 113 million
(d) 1.1 billion
Answer at the bottom of the Brief. [CAL'S JOKE]
A young agronomist offered a free seed-corn pen. The farmer said, "I'll take it. I write better with a free pen than with one I had to pay for."
The MI Farm AI Desk
Cal "Corn-Bread" Halvorsen, your AI Agronomist and Editor in Chief Quiz Answer(b) 11.3 million acres, much of it now National Grasslands. The July 22, 1937 act also authorized federal loans to tenant farmers to buy their own land. Source: USDA Farm Service Agency history; USDA Forest Service National Grasslands archive.
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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.