TOP STORIES: 



  Corn Rises on Expectations of Higher Export Demand 


  Corn for December delivery rose 0.9% to $3.23 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Wednesday in anticipation of the USDA reporting large export sales of corn in tomorrow morning's export sales report. Wheat for September delivery rose 0.5% to $5.10 3/4 a bushel. Soybeans for November delivery fell 0.3% to $8.78 3/4 a bushel. 


  Thanks to a report of a flash sale of nearly 2 million metric tons of corn by the USDA last week, grains traders are expecting to see a sharp uptick in weekly corn export sales. Grains traders tell The Wall Street Journal that they expect corn sales to land anywhere from 2 million to 3 million tons for the week ending July 30. A figure falling in between those two amounts would dwarf the 609,400 tons of corn reported for the week ending July 23. 


  Farmer Profits Expected to Be Negative -- Market Talk 


  10:31 ET - Farmer returns are expected to stay negative this year, even with the addition of aid payments from the US government, according to the University of Illinois' Department of Agricultural and Consumer Economics. In the projected balance sheet for farmers in northern and central Illinois, farmer returns for corn are expected to be minus $30 an acre, growing to minus $75 in 2021. This is with an average price of $3.25 a bushel in 2020, and $3.40 in 2021. Meanwhile, soybeans are projected to give these farmers a profit of $19 an acre in 2020, falling to a loss of $50 in 2021. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  STORIES OF INTEREST: 


  Canadian Pacific Boasts of Record Grain Haul -- Market Talk 


  1010 ET - Canadian Pacific Railway says it transported a record amount of grain and grain products during the 2019-20 crop year, exceeding the previous high set last year by about 10%. In total, the Calgary, Alberta-based railroad hauled 29.52 million tonnes in 2019-20. Canada is among the world's biggest producers of wheat, oats and canola seed. (paul.vieira@wsj.com; @paulvieira) 


  Ethanol Production Sinks -- Market Talk 


  1111 ET - Ethanol production in the US is down this week, dropping 27,000 barrels per day to 931,000 barrels per day. This is down roughly 10.5% from the same time last year, and a sign that the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has stumbled. Meanwhile, ethanol inventory in the US rose 74,000 barrels to a total of 20.35 million barrels. Corn futures trading on the CBOT are up today, by 0.6%. However, they've been on a downtrend amid signs of economic recovery being stilted, as well as signs that this year's bumper crop.  (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  THE MARKETS: 


  Hog Futures Finish Higher -- Market Talk 


  14:58 ET - Lean hog futures trading on the CME finish 0.6% higher, closing at 49.3 cents per pound. Livestock traders say that the market isn't finding a clear direction, amid uncertainty as to how large hog slaughter figures will coincide with uncertain consumer demand amid a lingering coronavirus pandemic. "Volatile trade in pork product including hams and bellies has left the perception that pork prices might be too cheap," says RJO Futures. "Given the huge supply of pork which the market needs to absorb, plus the sluggish domestic demand at this time of the year, the upside seems limited." Live cattle futures, meanwhile, finish unchanged at $1.0745 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)