Top 5 Things to Watch         08/23 05:03

   Top 5 Things to Watch: Rain Shifts to South, US-Mexico Border Points Begin 
to Reopen for Livestock

   Weather patterns shift south, some deterioration in corn conditions, plus 
ample demand bring a late bullish turn as harvest approaches.

By DTN Staff

   OMAHA (DTN) -- Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for 
the week of Aug. 23. Watch for coverage of these and other topics throughout 
the week on our subscription platforms as well as on http://www.DTNPF.com.

   Note that all report release times are Central Daylight Time unless 
otherwise noted.

   1. Checking the crop: We'll continue to watch progress of this 2026 corn and 
soybean crop, as field reports continue to talk about issues such as poor 
pollination and other concerns brought on by that intense hot, dry period for 
much of the country in July. We'll look at the USDA NASS weekly Crop Progress 
report Monday afternoon, and comparing that to the comments analyst Joel Karlin 
makes in his recent Fundamentally Speaking column here: 
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/blogs/fundamentally-speaking/blog-post/
2026/08/20/corn-ratings-continue-slip-despite.

   2. Preharvest bulls: Markets continued to push higher this past week, and 
our analysts will watch for signs of continued bullishness, particularly in 
corn. Upper pressure could remain until we start to see the combines roll in 
the central Corn Belt.

   3. U.S. weather: The stalled weather boundary that led to the heavy rainfall 
and flooding during the past weeks is shifting a more sweeping activity across 
the Midwest that can still bring rain. We're also seeing the rain pattern shift 
more southerly, which will help dry areas but could hamper harvest in the South.

   4. Mexico border opens: On Monday, we expect cattle to renew moving across 
the U.S. southern border, starting with the Douglas, Arizona, port of entry. 
The border has been closed since May 2025 due to New World screwworm. Entry 
ports at Santa Teresa, New Mexico, and Columbus, New Mexico, are expected to 
open soon after. The first case of NWS was detected in the U.S. on June 3, 2026.

   5. Reports due this week: Monday at 10 a.m., Grain Inspections. At 2 p.m., 
Chicken and Eggs report, then at 3 p.m., the weekly USDA Crop Progress report 
with DTN analysis. Tuesday at 8 a.m. the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Index. At 
9 a.m. New Home Sales and Consumer Confidence then at 2 p.m., Poultry 
Slaughter. Wednesday at 7:30 a.m., Durable Goods Orders for July, Second 
estimate of GDP and Personal Income and Spending and PCE Price Index for July. 
At 2 p.m., Broiler Hatchery and U.S. and Canadian Cattle and Hogs report. 
Thursday at 7:30 a.m., Grain Export Sales, Initial Jobless Claims, Advance 
Trade Balance for July, Wholesale and Retail Inventories. At 10:30 a.m., Weekly 
Economic Index and at 2 p.m., Slaughter Weekly. Friday at 8:45 a.m., Chicago 
Business Barometer. At 2:30 p.m., CFTC's Commitment of Traders report.

   You can find DTN Field Posts podcasts at https://dtn.link/FieldPostsPodcast, 
or https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/videos/field-posts-podcasts and 
they're also available on podcast hosting sites such as Apple Podcasts and 
Spotify.

   Watch for the latest news at http://www.dtnpf.com, and follow and like our 
Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dtnprogressivefarmer. You can find our news 
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