Farmer-Owned Bread: Keeping Wheat Value Local - WOYM 412
The Official Podcast for Kansas Wheat
Hosted by Aaron Harries
Kansas wheat harvest has been anything but normal this year. The crop started early, slowed down with rain and humidity, and is now moving through the state with wide swings in yield, test weight, and protein. In this episode, Aaron Harries and Justin Gilpin talk with Mike O’Dea and Josh Linville of StoneX about what they are hearing from the field and what those early harvest reports may mean for Kansas wheat producers.
The market conversation moves quickly from Kansas fields to global trade. O’Dea explains how lower Kansas City futures have helped U.S. hard red winter wheat become more competitive in some export channels, including movement into Mexico, while global quality questions in Europe, Russia, and other wheat-producing regions could shape demand later in the year. The group also discusses Kansas City, Chicago, and Minneapolis wheat spreads, changes to spring wheat contracts, and why basis and storage decisions matter when elevator margins are tight.
On the fertilizer side, Linville breaks down the sharp move lower in urea prices, the possibility of nitrogen demand destruction, and why lower fertilizer prices do not automatically solve the farm-margin problem when grain prices remain weak. He encourages producers to keep talking with suppliers, stay informed, and consider layering fertilizer purchases rather than making one large decision in a confusing market. The episode closes with a broader look at U.S. crop-input security and why long-term nitrogen, phosphate, and potash strategy matters for farmers and the food system.