Closing Market Report

The September 21, 2026, edition of the *Closing Market Report*, hosted by Todd Gleason, covers agricultural trade, station fundraising, and weather forecasts. Agricultural economist Ben Brown details the potential market implications of an upcoming meeting in Washington, D.C., between Presidents Trump and Xi, analyzing the fulfillment of past US-China trade commitments and the effects of high global energy and fertilizer prices on domestic and international grain production. Gleason follows with an appeal for listener donations during Illinois Public Media's fall fund drive to support the station's agricultural programming. Shifting to policy, Gleason highlights the row crop and livestock sectors' reliance on immigrant labor, shares a personal anecdote regarding citizenship documentation struggles for an international adoptee, and urges Congress to enact meaningful immigration reform. To conclude the program, Mark Russo of EverStream Analytics provides a weather update, noting that enhanced monsoonal moisture is benefiting winter wheat planting in the Plains, highlighting a notably quiet Atlantic hurricane season, and predicting persistent wet conditions that will delay the harvest across Iowa.

00:26 Ag Markets with Ben Brown, University of Missouri
11:50 Make a Pledge Today @ 217-244-9455 or willgive.org
13:01 Immigration
16:16 Ag Weather with Mark Russo, EverStream.ai