DTN Soybean Meal Analysis and Recommendations
10/14/2025
**Note To Readers**
Due to the ongoing government shutdown, updated Commitments of Traders data will not be included in DTN’s weekly Six Factors Strategy update until the CFTC report resumes its normal Friday afternoon publication. Thank you for your understanding.
A new recommendation was issued on Sept. 4, 2025. See Recommendations below.
POSITIONS
2025-26: On Sept. 4, 2025, purchased meal needs through the end of November with October meal futures near $280.00 and December meal futures near $283.30.
2024-25: On July 3, 2025, purchased meal needs through the end of September with August meal near $281.00 and September meal futures near $285.00
2024-25: On May 2, 2025, purchased meal needs through the end of July with July meal near $299.00.
2024-25: On Jan. 17, 2025, purchased meal needs through end of May with May meal near $306.00.
2024-25: On December 19, 2024, purchased meal needs through the end of March with March meal near $290.40.
2024-25: On November 4, 2024, purchased meal needs through the end of January with December meal at $299.60 and January meal at $300.20
2024-25: On Sept. 23, 2024, purchased meal needs to the end of November with October meal near $322.50 and December meal near $324.00.
2023-24: Covered meal needs from the end of June 2024 to the end of August 2024 with July meal near $369.00 and August meal near $357.50.
2023-24: Covered meal needs from May 2, 2024, through the end of June 2024 with May soybean meal near $351.50.
2023-24: Covered meal needs from Dec. 18 through the end of February 2024 on Dec. 18 with January meal near $411.50 and March meal near $400.50.
2023-24: Covered meal needs from Oct. 1 to the end of November 2023 on Aug. 14, 2023. October meal was near $397 and December meal was near $393.
2022-23: Covered meal needs from Aug. 1 to the end of September 2023, on June 28, 2023. August meal was trading near $392, September meal was near $385 and October meal was near $378.50.
2022-23: Covered meal needs from May 1 to the end of July with May soybean meal near $400 and July meal near $399.50 on Nov. 18, 2022.
2022-23: Covered meal needs from the end of November to the end of January 2023 on Sept. 20, 2022, when December meal was near $435 and January meal was near $430.
2023-23: Covered meal needs from the end of September to the end of November on July 28, 2022, when October soybean meal was near $421 and December soybean meal was at $419.
CURRENT ASSESSMENT
The trend in soybean meal prices remains down for now. Meal futures have settled back into a downward pattern amid the record soybean crush pace in the U.S. leading to a hefty supply of meal. Domestic demand for meal is strong, but export concerns have mounted recently as Argentina briefly suspended their grain export tax and attracted significant world business in large part due to their position as the world’s top meal exporter. For now, July lows for meal have held, but the fundamentals of the meal market still point to challenging path upwards for prices. Overall, soybean meal is a neutral, Type 3 market.
DAILY NOTE
December soybean meal futures closed at $274.30 on Tuesday, up $0.20. December meal futures closed higher Tuesday while deferred contracts were all marginally lower in an overall mixed session across the meal market. December prices remain under technical pressure, failing to regain ground at resistance near $275.80. The trend in December soybean futures remains down for now.
RECOMMENDATIONS*
(9/4/2025)
2025-26: December soymeal futures have dropped roughly $14 per ton from their late-August high, with prices approaching chart support near $280 and seasonal indices suggesting a typical low in August or September, I recommend taking advantage of the recent price drop and purchasing meal needs for October and November of 2025. Keeping in mind that the overall trend for meal futures remains lower, we will continue to recommend purchases only one or two months in advance until this trend shifts.
(7/3/2025)
2024-25: Front-month soybean meal futures dropped almost $25 per ton through the month of June with losses accelerating on the announcement of a higher-than-expected biofuel blending mandate from the EPA which is expected to incentivize increased soybean crush and meal production. More recently, however, it appears at least a short-term bottom has formed for prices, with the trade deal announcement with Vietnam (a top 5 buyer of U.S. meal) sparking traders to take profits on the record noncommercial net-short position in meal futures. The overall trend for meal remains down and purchases should be as needed. That being said, I recommend taking advantage of the selloff through the past month and purchasing meal needs through September 2025. August meal was trading near $281, and September meal near $285 at the time of this recommendation.
(5/2/2025)
2024-25: Due to the strong demand for soybean meal (running 15% higher than 2024 through the first quarter of 2025) as well as seasonal upside potential in soybean prices, I recommend taking advantage of a July meal futures price below $300/ton and purchasing meal needs for June and July. At the time of this recommendation, July meal is trading near $299/ton and is ranked at the 8th percentile for front-month meal price within the five-year range, indicating a historically inexpensive price.
(1/17/2025)
2024-25:
May soybean meal futures have fallen roughly $22/ton through January thus far from their Jan. 3 high. With soybean conditions showing a steep drop in Argentina this week, and weather models largely disagreeing on precipitation moving forward, I recommend purchasing April/May meal needs. May meal is trading currently near $306.00 per ton, within the 13th percentile of its trading range for contract life, indicating it’s a good historical price overall.
(12/19/2024)
2024-25:
I recommend taking advantage of soybean meal futures trading below the 4 percentile mark within the 5-year range and purchase needs through March. March meal set a new contract low Wednesday 12/18 but has fought off weakness Thursday 12/19 to retrace almost 50% of prior day losses. It appears the soybean complex may find support near these multi-year low prices, so I like taking some risk off here and covering first quarter 2025 needs. March meal is currently trading near $290.40/ton.
(11/4/2024)
2024-25:
Soybean meal futures snapped a streak of nine consecutive sessions lower Monday 11/4. With soybean meal prices reversing off contract lows Monday and entering a time period where meal tends to regain share of soybean crush value, I recommend taking advantage of near contract lows in meal to cover cash needs through January. December meal closed at $299.60 and January meal closed at $300.20.
(9/23/24)
2024-25:
With soybean prices turning higher on concerns about weather in South America, take advantage of meal prices near their lowest levels in four years and purchase meal needs through the end of November. October meal is near $322.50 and December meal is near $324.00.
(6/13/24)
2023-24:
With spot soybean meal prices still showing unusually firm support, buy cash soybean meal needs at this time for the end of June 2024 to the end of August 2024. July soybean meal futures are near $369.00 and August meal is near $357.50.
(5/2/24)
2023-24:
With spot soybean meal prices showing unexpected buying interest in early May, buy cash soybean meal needs through the end of June at this time. May soybean meals are near $351.50.
(3/27/24)
2023-24:
Just to clarify, as long as the trend remains down in July meal, the recommendation is to only buy meal as needed.
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*DTN recommendations are general in nature and are not intended to be specific for any particular person or farming business. The buying and selling of futures or options involves substantial risk and is not suitable for everyone. DTN accepts no responsibility for actual trades made.