Navigating Tight Margins through Grain Marketing with Ed Usset

Navigating Tight Margins through Grain Marketing with Ed Usset

From Minnesota CropCast by University of Minnesota Extension

April 14, 2026 · 34 min · Episode 62

About this episode

In this episode, Ed Usset discusses grain marketing strategies for farmers facing tight margins.

As planters prepare to roll across Minnesota this spring, farmers aren’t just thinking about getting the seed in the ground – they are also concerned about getting their old and new crops marketed to ensure that they can stay in the black In this timely episode of Minnesota CropCast , hosts Dave and Seth Naeve are joined in the studio by Ed Usset, Grain Marketing Economist with University of Minnesota and Extension. Ed brings his decades of expertise to break down current market dynamics, domestic crush capacity, and the psychological hurdles of selling grain in a tight-margin year. Key Episode Highlights: The "11th Commandment" of Grain Marketing: Ed explains why holding unpriced old crop in the bin past July 1st is a major risk, and how farmers can capitalize on recent soybean rallies. Making Sense of a Weak Basis: Despite ethanol and crush plants running at near-full capacity, local basis levels for corn, soybeans, and wheat are historically poor. Ed breaks down the local supply factors driving this trend. The Soybean Crush Boom: They take a dive into the massive nationwide expansion of soybean crush capacity driven by renewable diesel. Learn why soybean oil has officially…

People in this episode

Hosts: Dave Naeve, Seth Naeve

Guest: Ed Usset

Topics covered

  • grain marketing
  • crop pricing
  • market dynamics
  • soybean crush
  • agriculture economics

Keywords

  • grain marketing
  • soybean crush
  • corn pricing
  • market dynamics
  • agriculture

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Minnesota, University of Minnesota Extension

More episodes of Minnesota CropCast

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Minnesota CropCast podcast page.