High Diesel Sends Tennessee Farmers Looking Closer to Home for Delivery

MEMPHIS, Tenn. Diesel prices are weighing on harvest budgets and pushing some farmers to rethink where they drop off grain, Lewis Williamson of HTS Commodities said on Market Day Report.

Williamson said 60% of the U.S. corn crop was harvested as of the interview, behind the five-year average of 66% for that point in the season. Soybeans reached 79%, ahead of normal pace. He said fuel costs add expense to running combines and hauling crops, and merchants have offered relief to some customers in response.

"When you're looking at grain deliveries, you want to stay as close to you as you can," Williamson said. He advised producers to weigh transportation costs against local basis prices when choosing where to sell.

Williamson said corn and wheat prices moved into oversold territory. Livestock producers, poultry operations and ethanol plants were buying at lower prices. He said yield figures should firm up as more harvest data arrives, and he will watch for gaps between USDA supply and demand estimates and what producers find in the field.

On the river, the Mississippi River gauge in Memphis read around minus one foot at the time of the interview, and Williamson said levels could drop further by Halloween. Dry conditions moved harvest along in the northern Delta and Missouri Bootheel, he said.

Williamson said upcoming USDA reports, international developments, crude oil prices and geopolitical tensions could move grain markets in the weeks ahead. The interview aired on Market Day Report on Oct. 27, 2026.