The National Weather Service issues its updated long-term weather forecasts once each month. Obviously, the May and June updates are important because they provide at least a glimpse of what weather conditions might be during the gut slot of the North American growing season. The maps below, released 17 May, show the precipitation and temperature forecasts for the June/July/August time frame. It’s notable that there isn’t a change from last month’s outlook. For the most part, they indicate that weather models suggest normal temperatures/precipitation for the center of the country, essentially the Corn Belt, and above-normal precipitation for the eastern third of the U.S.
Below are the drought monitor maps of 15 May 201...
The corn and soy complex closed higher, with the wheat market mixed, as winter wheat closed up but spring wheat and livestock ended lower. Part of the strength for corn and soybeans may have been a weather premium, as crop planting has started out fast but warm weather has been slow to develop...
Real GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the consensus expectation of 2.3 percent but above the 0.5 percent growth in Q4 2025. The GDP number matches the average annualized pace of growth since the peak back in late 2007, right before the Financial P...
Reflect for a moment on what you eat. There is a lot of advice out there in the ether about what you should eat, but really, what do you currently eat and how much? The good people at the USDA have some data for you, to help you answer that question. USDA says that we eat quite a bit of meat. L...
