Interactive Grain Report Tool

Written collaboratively by Matthew Elliott, SDSU Extension Agribusiness Specialist; and Whoi Cho, Assistant Professor of Applied Economics.

Overview

The SDSU Extension Interactive Grain Report Tool is a comprehensive, real-time agricultural market intelligence platform providing detailed analysis of U.S. grain markets, biofuels production, fertilizer markets, and transportation infrastructure. The tool integrates data from multiple federal agencies to deliver current and historical market insights for corn, soybeans, and wheat.

Use Cases

For Farmers:

Track basis levels to time grain sales
Monitor export demand and stocks to anticipate price movements
Understand railroad service levels affecting delivery timing
Compare current marketing year to historical patterns
Analyze fertilizer prices across regions to optimize input purchasing decisions
Track nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium cost trends for budgeting
Compare fertilizer cost per nutrient unit across different products

For Grain Elevators:

Analyze regional basis patterns for merchandising decisions
Monitor barge and rail rates for logistics planning
Track export inspections to gauge demand at major ports
Assess local production and stocks levels
Monitor fertilizer supply chains and pricing for farmer services

For Ag Lenders:

Understand supply/demand fundamentals affecting farm income
Monitor commodity price trends and volatility
Track production data for portfolio risk assessment
Assess fertilizer cost impacts on farm profitability and cash flow

For Input Retailers:

Track fertilizer price trends for inventory management
Compare regional pricing to identify competitive opportunities
Monitor production and inventory levels for supply planning
Analyze seasonal price patterns for purchasing strategy

For Students & Educators:

Real-world data for agricultural economics courses
Interactive visualizations explaining complex market relationships
Case studies in commodity marketing and transportation
Fertilizer market analysis and input cost management education

For Policy Analysts:

Biofuels production and feedstock demand tracking
Railroad performance and grain car availability metrics
Export competitiveness and global trade flows
Transportation infrastructure utilization
Fertilizer supply chain analysis and agricultural input costs
Production capacity and import dependency assessment

Key Features

Commodity Analysis (Corn, Soybeans, Wheat)

Each commodity section provides integrated analysis across multiple dimensions:

Market Fundamentals:

Supply & Demand Forecasts - Monthly USDA WASDE data showing production, usage, exports, and ending stocks with 15+ years of historical comparisons
Stocks & Price Analysis - Quarterly grain stocks correlated with futures prices to identify supply pressure and price trends
Supply/Use Analysis - Marketing year balance sheets tracking how supply is allocated across domestic use, exports, and carryout
Production Analysis - State-level yield, planted acres, and total production data with interactive maps and 10-year trend analysis

Trade & Movement:

Export Sales - Weekly outstanding sales by destination country tracking commitments vs. USDA forecasts with marketing year comparisons
Export Inspections - Weekly grain volumes inspected for export by port region and destination country
Waterborne Trade - Monthly port-specific export volumes by vessel type and destination region
Rail Flow Maps - Annual freight movements between U.S. economic areas visualized on interactive maps (waybill data)
Barge Loadings - Weekly grain movements through Mississippi River locks and tributaries (corn and soybeans)

Market Analysis:

Futures Analysis - Daily CME futures prices across contract months with spread analysis and continuous contract charts
Basis Analysis - Weekly cash-to-futures basis by state showing regional supply/demand dynamics and historical basis patterns
Commitment of Traders - Weekly positioning by commercial hedgers, large speculators, and small traders from CFTC reports

Global Markets:

World Supply - Major producer country production and stocks with U.S. share analysis
World Demand - Global consumption patterns and import demand by region
World Ending Stocks - Global inventory levels and stocks-to-use ratios affecting price outlook
World Trade Flows - Sankey diagrams visualizing global trade movements from exporting to importing countries

Biofuels Production

Ethanol Production (under Corn):

Weekly U.S. ethanol production with capacity utilization gauges
Monthly corn feedstock usage and conversion efficiency tracking
Ethanol plant capacity by state and company with geographic distribution maps
Marketing year production totals and corn demand calculations
Official EIA capacity data integration (18.3+ billion gallons annual capacity)

Biodiesel Production (under Soybeans):

Monthly biodiesel and renewable diesel capacity breakdowns
Feedstock input analysis (soybean oil, corn oil, animal fats, yellow grease, canola oil)
Production capacity by PADD region and company
Plant locations mapped by capacity with 48 biodiesel facilities tracked
Soybean oil demand calculations and bushel equivalents
Official EIA capacity data (7.0 billion gallons combined biodiesel + renewable diesel)

Soybean Crush (under Soybeans):

Monthly soybean crushing volumes by region
Soybean meal and oil production tracking
Crush plant capacity and utilization analysis
Geographic distribution of crushing facilities

Fertilizer Markets

Fertilizer Price Analysis:

Fertilizer Overview - Regional pricing dashboard covering six major fertilizer commodities across 11 U.S. regions
- Nitrogen fertilizers: Ammonia (82-0-0), Urea (46-0-0), UAN (32% N solution)
- Phosphorus fertilizers: DAP (18-46-0), MAP (11-52-0)
- Potassium fertilizers: Potash/Muriate of Potash (0-0-60)
- Monthly price data from USDA Agricultural Transportation with Green Markets pricing
- Cornbelt snapshot showing latest prices and month-over-month changes
- Time-series charts by commodity and region
- Nitrogen cost comparison ($/lb N) across ammonia, urea, and UAN
- Regional price spreads (Cornbelt vs. Gulf)

Individual Fertilizer Commodity Pages:

Each of six fertilizer commodities has a dedicated analysis page: - Ammonia - Anhydrous ammonia (82-0-0), the most concentrated nitrogen source - Urea - Granular urea (46-0-0), most widely traded solid nitrogen fertilizer - UAN - Urea ammonium nitrate solution (32% N), liquid nitrogen for precision agriculture - DAP - Diammonium phosphate (18-46-0), primary phosphorus fertilizer - MAP - Monoammonium phosphate (11-52-0), phosphorus with lower ammonia content - Potash - Muriate of potash (0-0-60), primary potassium fertilizer

Each commodity page includes: - Latest prices by region with month-over-month changes - Multi-year price trend comparisons - Regional price differentials and ranking - Year-over-year price change analysis - Seasonal price patterns - Agricultural relevance and typical application rates

Fertilizer Production, Inventory & Disappearance:

Production Trends - Annual U.S. production volumes by nutrient (Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium) from 2000-present
Disappearance (Usage) - Total fertilizer consumption for agricultural and industrial purposes
Inventory Tracking - On-site and off-site fertilizer inventories
Production vs. Usage Comparison - Annual balance between domestic production and disappearance
Calendar Year and Fertilizer Year - Data reported for both calendar year and fertilizer marketing year (July 1-June 30)
Geographic Coverage - National data for Nitrogen and Phosphorus; North American data (U.S. + Canada) for Potassium
Data normalization - Volumes adjusted for industry participation in The Fertilizer Institute data collection
Source: USDA Agricultural Transportation / The Fertilizer Institute

Transportation & Logistics

Fuel & Energy:

Motor Gasoline Production - Monthly U.S. gasoline production (finished, conventional, reformulated) with 5-year trends and ethanol blending rates
Petroleum Stocks - Weekly crude oil, gasoline, and distillate fuel inventories by PADD region
Fuel Prices - Weekly retail prices for regular/midgrade/premium gasoline and diesel by PADD region with year-over-year comparisons

Rail Transportation:

Grain Rail Data - Weekly grain car loadings by state, railroad, and commodity type
Grain Car Order Fulfillment - Weekly manifest service orders placed vs. filled with unfilled order aging by railroad
Shuttle Train Turns - Monthly shuttle train cycle times by railroad and destination region with performance vs. plan metrics
Rail Freight Rates - Current tariff rates for major grain-producing origins to key markets

Water Transportation:

Barge Rates - Weekly downbound barge rates from Mississippi River origins to New Orleans/St. Louis
Ocean Freight Rates - Weekly dry bulk vessel charter rates for key grain export routes (U.S. Gulf to global destinations)

Data Sources

The tool integrates real-time data from:

USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) - Production, yield, acreage data
USDA World Agricultural Outlook Board (WASDE) - Monthly supply/demand forecasts stored in AWS DynamoDB
USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) - Weekly export sales reports
USDA Federal Grain Inspection Service (FGIS) - Export inspection volumes
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) - Cash prices, basis, freight rates
USDA Agricultural Transportation Open Data Platform - Fertilizer prices, production, inventory, and transportation data via Socrata SODA API
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) - Ethanol, biodiesel, motor gasoline production and capacity; retail fuel prices; petroleum stocks
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) - Commitment of Traders reports
Surface Transportation Board (STB) - Rail service metrics, waybill data
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Lock performance, waterborne commerce statistics
CME Group - Futures price data for corn, soybeans, wheat
Green Markets (Bloomberg Company) - Fertilizer pricing data (via USDA partnership)
The Fertilizer Institute - Production, inventory, and disappearance data

Navigation Structure

The tool uses an intuitive dropdown menu system:

Corn - 18 analysis pages covering production, markets, trade, and ethanol
Soybeans - 18 analysis pages including crush, biodiesel production, and global oilseed markets
Wheat - 15 analysis pages for hard red winter, hard red spring, and soft red winter classes
Transportation - 9 pages covering fuel production, stocks, prices, and grain logistics
Fertilizer - 8 pages including overview, production/inventory, and individual commodity analysis
Contact - Contact information for SDSU Extension
Acknowledgements - Funding sources and project support

Accessing the Tool

You can access the SDSU Extension interactive grain report using the embedded tool below, or by visiting the tool website. The tool is free to use and requires no login. All data updates automatically from federal sources.

Project Support

Support for this project was provided by the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station and the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council.