Row Crops Today — May 11, 2026
The 5-minute 5 AM brief for row crop producers and ag professionals
Headline Stack
🌍 Moran returns from China, presses 25M-ton soybean commitment before Trump-Xi summit
🔬 Agronomist sets 100–130 GDU benchmark for corn emergence scouting
💰 Illinois urea jumps 55% to $902/ton as Hormuz disruptions cut global supply
🌧️ Southern Minnesota frost hits early-planted corn and soybeans below GDU thresholds
Top Story
🌍 Moran returns from China, presses 25M-ton soybean commitment before Trump-Xi summit. — LINK
Sen. Jerry Moran is back in Kansas after a bipartisan Senate delegation trip to China, where he pressed Beijing to honor a November agreement to buy at least 25 million tons of U.S. soybeans annually through 2028. The visit precedes President Trump's planned summit with China's president in Beijing late next week. Moran said Chinese demand for Kansas soybeans and grain sorghum has fallen sharply since U.S. tariffs took effect, with Beijing redirecting purchases to Brazil. "One of the challenges we face is that China made the decision to move its purchases to Brazil and have invested in infrastructure in Brazil," Moran said. "The question is, in agriculture, once you lose a customer, how do you win that customer back?" Moran also said Kansas farmers are "in as a difficult position as they've ever been" during his time in public office. The talks also covered a potential Chinese purchase of up to 500 Boeing 737 Max planes and China's role in encouraging Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
More This Week
🔬 Agronomist sets 100–130 GDU benchmark for corn emergence scouting. — LINK
Field agronomist Mike Hannewald recommends waiting until 100–130 cumulative growing degree units before digging corn seed to assess emergence, the standard window for evaluating stand establishment.
For soybeans, Hannewald flags nodule color as the key nitrogen-fixation check: rusty orange indicates active fixation, while tan or green/brown nodules signal a failing system.
On corn crown rot, brown crown tissue indicates damage and elevated risk, while healthy white-to-cream crown color signals the plant is on track.
💰 Illinois urea up 55% to $902/ton as Hormuz disruptions hit fertilizer supply. — LINK
Illinois-average anhydrous ammonia has climbed to $1,123/ton, up more than 30% since late February, while urea has reached $902/ton, up 55% over the same window; on-farm diesel is at $4.60/gallon, up 45%.
Strait of Hormuz shipping disruptions tied to the Iran conflict have cut off roughly half of global urea export supply, with combined Middle East and Ukraine war effects rippling into 2027 input budgets.
The price moves are Illinois-market averages reported by AgriNews; other regional markets may vary, and the figures track from a late-February baseline through early May.
🌧️ Southern Minnesota frost hits early-planted corn and soybeans below GDU thresholds. — LINK
May 5 frost warnings brought minimum temperatures down to 24°F across parts of southwest, south-central, southeast, and northwest Minnesota, hitting fields planted in mid-to-late April; corn needs 90–120 cumulative GDUs and soybeans about 130 GDUs to emerge.
"Temperatures usually need to be at or below 28–30°F for several hours to kill soybean tissue," University of Minnesota Extension noted, advising producers to wait three to five days before assessing stands.
Corn's growing point stays below the soil surface until the V5 to V6 stage, meaning emerged seedlings can often survive frost unless soil-level temperatures reach freezing.
Basis Watch
Nebraska Northwest and Kentucky Green River soybean basis strengthened 10 cents on Friday, the largest gains in the Corn Belt. Illinois North new-crop soybeans weakened 5 cents against the November contract.
Friday’s corn bids saw Nebraska Northwest old-crop firm 5 cents on the low end against the July contract. Illinois West corn softened, with the top of the range declining 4 cents. Illinois Little Egypt and Southwest corn held within a cent of unchanged through the session.
Source: USDA AMS
Urea prices on Illinois markets have jumped 55% since late February 2026 to $902/ton, driven by Strait of Hormuz disruptions cutting off roughly half of global urea export supply.
How did you like today's issue? [email protected]