TOP STORIES: 



  Soybeans Rise on Export Strength 


  Soybeans for November delivery rose 2% to $10.11 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday on prospects Chinese purchases of U.S. exports will continue at its current level or better. Corn for December delivery rose 1.6% to $3.71 3/4 a bushel. Wheat for December delivery fell 0.7% to $5.42 a bushel. 


  After a brief pause yesterday, the soybean contract on the CBOT resumed its upward momentum. "The bulls are feeling much better this morning... with buyers stepping in on the overnight sell-off," said Doug Bergman of RCM Alternatives before the market opened Wednesday. A streak of Chinese buying of U.S. soybean exports that continued Wednesday has been supporting the strong month for soybeans, but it remains to be seen how long that strength will last. "We have a market that is loaded with speculative longs just as harvest is getting underway," said Mr. Bergman. "If we start to hear more reports of 'better than expected beans', it could spook some of the speculative longs in the market." 


  Cargill Backs Regenerative Agriculture Campaign -- Market Talk 


  0923 ET - Agribusiness giant Cargill says it will back an effort to implement "regenerative agriculture" practices across 10 million acres of North American farmland over the next 10 years. Those practices include planting placeholder crops to cover soil during winter months and avoiding tilling fields, which Cargill says will capture carbon in the ground and aid in cutting the company's overall greenhouse gas emissions by 30% per ton of product by 2030. Cargill will fund incentive programs and academic efforts to shift more acres to regenerative practices, the company says. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge) 


  Export Sales Expected to Stay Strong -- Market Talk 


  12:59 ET - Export sales reported by the USDA tomorrow morning are expected to continue to be strong. According to a survey of grains traders by WSJ, corn export sales are expected to total anywhere from 750,000 metric tons to 2.2M tons, while soybean sales are expected to rise as high as 2.8M tons. In both cases, increased sales of exports to China are expected to be the main driver for the high figures. However, both totals will likely be lower than last week's gargantuan figures of 3.1M tons and 5.7M tons, respectively. Those figure included sales announced in the 2019/20 marketing year that have yet to be delivered--something grains traders are watching closely. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  STORIES OF INTEREST: 


  Restaurant Brands Recovers Majority of Sales -- Market Talk 


  0858 ET - Restaurant Brands International says the fast-food parent company has reopened 93% of its restaurants globally since the pandemic and is back to 90% of system-wide sales. Executives speaking at an investor conference this week say they still intend to add Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes locations across the world. The company Wednesday issues roughly $796 million in bonds, joining other companies in issuing debt during the pandemic. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon) 


  Kraft Heinz Plans to Sustainably Source 100% of Heinz Ketchup Tomatoes by 2025 


  Kraft Heinz Co. said it plans to sustainably source 100% of Heinz Ketchup tomatoes by 2025 globally, in accordance with the company's sustainable agriculture practices. 


  Kraft Heinz said it has taken steps to strengthen its supply chain by evolving those practices and working with growers to implement them. The company said, as an example, that tomato growers implemented new soil health procedures, ultimately yielding an improved 70 tons of tomatoes per acre annually. 


  Ethanol Inventories Fall -- Market Talk 


  1111 ET - Ethanol inventories declined more than previously expected by analysts, possibly good news for corn farmers looking to ethanol demand to support corn prices. US inventories fell 195,000 barrels in the past week, dropping to 19.8 million barrels. However, daily ethanol production also fell, dropping 15,000 barrels to a rate of 926,000 barrels per day. "The sentiment for corn is mixed now that ethanol stocks are lowest since August 7," says Terry Reilly of Futures International. Corn futures are up 0.7% on the CBOT Wednesday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais) 


  THE MARKETS: 


  Hog Futures Step Back For Third Consecutive Session -- Market Talk 


  15:17 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME closed down 1.7% to 61.975 cents per pound Wednesday. That makes it the third consecutive session that hog futures have finished lower this week, making it 7.4% that hog futures have fallen in the past three days alone. Even so, the most-active contract is still up 18.1% since the start of the month. Meanwhile, live cattle futures fell 0.4% to $1.06725 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)