USDA's September 30 Grain Stocks report delivered an ugly surprise for corn, diesel is flirting with record highs, and rate hike expectations are swinging week to week. StoneX Senior Commodities Economist Mike Castle joins Jesse Allen on Market Talk to sort through what it all means for farmers and ranchers. Mike breaks down why USDA's feed and residual number has been such a puzzle, how old-crop corn stocks climbed back above 2 billion bushels, and what still supports demand in the year ahead. He also walks through charts on corn feed demand per animal unit and the corn to diesel ratio, explains how tight distillate stocks and Middle East disruptions are squeezing margins, and shares his view on inflation, the Fed and how all of it reaches the rural economy. He closes with risk management advice, including where fertilizer affordability stands heading toward spring 2027.

Cattle are stuck in neutral, hogs are digesting a surprising report, and corn funds are heading for the exits as harvest rolls in. Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek in Sioux Center, Iowa, also joins Jesse Allen on today's Market Talk to break down the livestock and grain markets heading into the fourth quarter. Scott covers the split between southern and northern cash cattle trade, what plant closures mean for family feeders who want to negotiate cash, why the Choice/Select spread is widening at an unusual time, and how consolidation and beef on dairy are reshaping the way cattle get sold. He also weighs in on the Hogs and Pigs report, sluggish pork demand, harvest delays from wet weather, and what record fund length and a bigger corn stocks number could mean for the short term.

Also to close the show, we get an update from Susan Littlefield at World Dairy Expo this week in Segment Four as she gets analysis of the dairy markets with Robin Schmahl from AgMarket.net.