TOP STORIES:

Soybeans Rise Ahead of Election Night

Soybeans for January delivery rose 1.1% to $10.64 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday as traders positioned themselves ahead of expected volatility related to the U.S. election.

Market volatility will likely occur as results from the U.S. general election roll in, said Craig Turner of Daniels Trading. "During 2016, we saw some pretty big moves both up and down," Turner says. "It was not for the faint of heart."

Canadian Pacific Ships Record In Grains -- Market Talk

09:23 ET - Rail provider Canadian Pacific says it shipped a record amount of grains in October, totaling 3.04M metric tons--the first time ever that Canadian Pacific has shipped over 3M tons of grain in a month. The company says flows of grains to ports has been "very strong," necessitating investment in new hopper cars. The situation appears to be similar in the US, with the USDA reporting that rail shipments of grains in the US were 24% higher in mid-October than they were at the same time last year. For grains traders counting on strong export demand to support prices, Canadian Pacific's announcement is supportive. Pre-market, CBOT grain futures are up, with corn up 0.7%, soybeans rising 1.2%, and wheat gaining 0.9%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Rising Farm Exports to China Lift Agribusiness, Farmers

Rising agricultural exports to China are helping revive the fortunes of some agribusiness companies and farmers, after the coronavirus pandemic upended the U.S. farm sector.

China's effort to boost pork production, and buy more U.S. grain and meat following this year's U.S.-China trade agreement, are driving a surge of U.S. farm goods across the Pacific in recent months, according to government estimates. Growing demand around the world for food staples like vegetable oil and starch are keeping U.S. agriculture companies' processing plants humming, industry executives said.

STORIES OF INTEREST:

StoneX Lowers Crop Yield Forecast -- Market Talk

12:12 ET - US crop yields may drop slightly in the USDA's next WASDE report due out next Tuesday, according to StoneX. "Our corn yield estimate slipped slightly lower to 178.9 bushels per acre this month, down from 179.0 bpa in October. Our soybean yield estimate dropped to 52.1 bpa, down from 52.4 bpa in October," says Arlan Suderman of StoneX. "This sets the tone for expecting USDA to ratchet its production estimates a bit lower next week, although big changes on the supply side of the balance sheet are not expected." In its October WASDE report, the USDA pegged US corn yields at 178.4 bpa, and soybean yields at 51.9 bpa. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Agco Says North American Farmers Feeling Better As Commodity Prices Rise - -- Market Talk

1104 ET - Executives at Agco, the tractor and combine maker, say farmers in the US and Canada have been cautious throughout the year, despite billions in fresh government aid. Now, stronger commodity pricing and payments are boosting confidence, one Agco leader says, flowing through to the company. "We're continuing to see strong order boards and we're working our inventory down," he adds. Net sales in North America are up 3% during the first nine months, excluding currency fluctuations, helped by demand for hay equipment and high-horsepower tractors, offset by lower grain and protein products as well as sprayer sales. Agco shares up 6.8%. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

THE MARKETS:

Livestock Futures Finish Lower -- Market Talk

15:00 ET - Livestock futures trading on the CME finished lower, after starting the day mixed. Live cattle futures finished down 0.7% to $1.07825 per pound, while lean hogs futures finished 0.8% lower at 65.4 cents per pound. The drop in futures comes despite an uptick in cutout prices reported by the USDA today. According to the USDA, pork carcass cutouts rose $4.44 per hundredweight to $88.58 per cwt -- making it 4.8% pork cutout prices have risen in the past five days. Boxed beef prices are also up Tuesday. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

11-03-20 1730ET