Rolling Acres Grain

Some of the best opportunities in tech may not be the stocks getting all the attention. Sometimes, it pays to look at the cheaper names hiding in plain sight. That is especially true for dividend investors. A low valuation can be attractive, but cheap stocks can also stay cheap for a reason. The better setup is to find companies that still have earnings behind them, pay shareholders while they wait, and have enough analyst support to suggest the market may be overlooking something.

Lean hog futures slipped lower on Friday, with contracts down 7 to 62 cents, as October was down just 47 cents on the week. USDA’s national base hog price was reported at $93.30 on Friday afternoon, down $4.07 from the day prior. The CME Lean Hog Index was down 2 cents on August 12 at $95.87. Friday’s Commitment of Traders data showed managed money adding 5,479 contracts back to their net short position in lean hog futures and options during the week of August 11.

Cotton futures were back to rally mode on Friday, with front month up 116 to 130 points at the close. December was 40 points higher on the week. Crude oil was $1.15 per barrel higher, with the US dollar index $0.320 lower. Commitment of Traders data showed managed money adding another 10,591 contracts to their net long in cotton futures and options during the week ending on August 11. That net long stood at 78,870 contracts on Tuesday, the largest in over 2 years.

Live cattle futures faced Friday pressure, but bounced off the lows to close with contracts 85 cents to $2.60 lower. August was $8.07 lower on the week. There were no new deliveries issued against August futures on Friday. Cash trade rounded out the week with $225-228 sales in the North and some $228 Southern sales. Feeder cattle futures saw losses of $2 to $4.05 across the board on Friday, with August falling $10.82 on the day. The CME Feeder Cattle Index was back down $3.43 on August 13 to $348.50.

Soybeans posted gains of 5 ½ to 11 ¾ cents across most contracts on Friday, with September up 18 ¾ cents on the week. November was up 16 ¼ cents. The cmdtyView national average Cash Bean price was up 10 3/4 cents at $11.50. Soymeal futures closed the session with contracts up a dime to $2.80, with September up $1.30 this week. Soy Oil were 9 to 65 points higher, with September 120 in the green for the week. August futures across the complex expired today.

The wheat complex led the grain rally on Friday, following more Black Sea news. Chicago SRW contracts were up 11 3/4 to 22 cents on Friday, with a weekly gain of 35 cents. KC HRW futures led the wheat rally, with contracts up 15 to 33 cents on Friday, as September was 40 ¼ cents higher on the week. MPLS spring wheat closed the session with contracts 9 to 10 ¾ cents higher, as September was 1 ¼ cents lower this week.

Please join me for a free grain webinar every Thursday at 3pm Central. We discuss supply, demand, weather, and the charts. Sign Up Now Commentary Corn, soybeans, and wheat were stronger in Friday’s session with wheat leading the charge higher. Yesterday we saw market pressure following news Ukraine had presented Russia with a peace proposal, but this morning it was reported Russia had rejected the offer. This brought managed money buyers to several markets, including the ag contracts.

The S&P 500 Index ($SPX) (SPY) on Friday fell by -0.17%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($DOWI) (DIA) fell by -0.20%, and the Nasdaq 100 Index ($IUXX) (QQQ) fell by -0.13%. E-mini S&P futures (ESU26) fell -0.27%, and September E-mini Nasdaq futures (NQU26) fell -0.16%. Stocks ended Friday lower on weak US retail sales and consumer sentiment reports.

Reddit (RDDT) shares ripped higher on Friday following news the social media giant will join the benchmark S&P 500 Index ($SPX) before trading opens on Tuesday, Aug. 18. As investors cheered the announcement, RDDT soared well past its major moving averages (MAs), signaling bulls have taken back control across multiple timeframes. Despite today’s surge, however, Reddit stock remains down over 23% versus the start of this year (2026).

Monthly dividend stocks go above and beyond the norm, in more ways than one. If you ever think you have it rough as an income investor, just look across the pond to Europe, where stock dividends often come only twice (in uneven amounts), even once per year. By comparison, we Americans have it pretty good—most of our dividend stocks pay regular, reliable payouts, and at a more frequent quarterly clip.