McKeany-Flavell Hot Commodity Podcast

Latest consumer trends weighing on the food & beverage space

• New MAHA food pyramid could lead to changing consumption
• GLP-1 and weight management drugs grow in usage
• What’s a food and/or beverage manufacturer to do in this environment?
• Save the date for our next webinar!
  • Seasonal Market Outlook Webinar: Navigating the Opportunities & Risks Ahead
  • Wed., March 25, 2026

  • Clients, be on the lookout for your invite next week, or anyone can sign up now at mckeany-flavell.com

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Nicole Thomas, Vice President – Information Services
Expert: Marilyn Adutwum, Data Analyst

Recap of the 2026 International Sweetener Colloquium

• Held in beautiful Championsgate, FL: How was the weather?
• Demand for sugar and sweeteners pressured from growing GLP-1 use and SNAP restrictions
• Tariffs are off and then back on again?
• 2027 negotiations appear to be in no hurry

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Kevin Combs, Vice President – Global Sweeteners Specialist

Market updates amid today's Supreme Court ruling

• Wheat
  • Wheat is worth watching now: futures rallying to six-month highs
  • Long-term bearish outlook still most likely
• Sugar
  • Sugar forfeiture risk and product reformulations will be two non-traditional drivers for the 2027 market
• Soy complex
  • Trade and profitability: soybean supply and consumption may hinge on those factors
  • Energy markets, be it biofuel or crude oil, soybean oil prices are at the mercy of energy markets, domestic politics, and the geopolitical environment 
• Corn
  • Corn acreage and consumption: lower YOY acreage (with likely good carry-in for 2026/27) against feed consumption now, ethanol consumption later

Host/Expert: Nicole Thomas, Vice President – Information Services
Expert: Eric Thornton, Vice President

"Be mine" for a Valentine's Cocoa market update

• World demand down
• How’s the weather looking for the mid-crop season?
  • What about surplus?
• What’s the recent news from Ghana?
  • Arrival numbers have been hard to come by; now we know why!
• Current market price and recommendations for coverage going forward
• Happy Valentine’s Day!

Host: Eric Thornton, VP
Expert: Marilyn Adutwum, Data Analyst

February WASDE: How typical for this time of year?

• Sugar
  • Louisiana record cane crop boosted
  • USDA cleans up 2024/25 delivery figures
• Wheat
  • Changes minimal (as expected) for wheat
  • Small decrease to food demand bumps up ending stocks
    • Could we reach 1 billion bushels in ending stocks for new crop 2026/27?
• Corn & soy complex
  • U.S. corn balance sheet showing slightly lower ending stocks; still neutral to bearish
  • Nothing new and enlightening for soybeans or soybean oil, in the U.S. anyway

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Kevin Combs, Vice President – Global Sweeteners Specialist
Expert: Eric Thornton, Vice President
Expert: Nicole Thomas, Vice President – Information Services

Risks shaping the plastic resin market in 2026 with RTi Global

• Why 2026 feels fundamentally different from prior resin cycles
• How polyethylene supply discipline and inventory management are driving price behavior
• The growing disconnect between resin indices and real transaction pricing
• Nonmarket adjustments and why they create confusion—and risk—for buyers
• What resin buyers should actually be watching right now

Host: Nicole Thomas, Vice President – Information Services
Guest Expert: Michael Workman, Growth Director at ResinSmart by RTi Global
Guest Expert: Kevin Mekaru, Senior Business Unit Lead, Commodity Plastic Resin, RTi Global
www.resinsmart.ai

 

A big week for the Federal Reserve & future monetary policy

• Fed leaves rates unchanged as expected
• Powell says the levels of uncertainty around employment and inflation have diminished
• Trump taps Kevin Warsh to head the Fed next
• PPI inflation comes in a little hot

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Shawn Bingham, Director of Commodity Risk Management

What to expect at next week’s ASGA conference

• ASGA is celebrating 50 years of excellence!
  • What will be discussed?
• Farm incomes dropping
  • Imperative to get beet payments up for the 2026/27 crop year
• Sugar growers going through generational change
  • Need to support young farmers of America
• Is the rebound in beet sugar deliveries sustainable?
• Did you miss our Key Ingredients in 2026 Webinar on Wednesday?
  • Watch now on our IQ platform!
  • Not an IQ subscriber? Reach out to us to learn more!

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Craig Ruffolo, Vice President – Commodity Specialist

Diving deep into wheat reports

• Winter Wheat Seedings report
• Current look at winter wheat conditions and weather
• U.S. exports capped at 900 million bushels?
• Recommendations for strategy and coverage
• Join us next Wednesday, January 21 for our first webinar of the year!
  • Key Ingredients in 2026 Webinar: Anticipate Volatility & Plan Effectively
  • Clients, be on the lookout for your invite, or anyone can sign up now at mckeany-flavell.com

Host: Craig Ruffolo, Vice President – Commodity Specialist
Expert: Eric Thornton, Vice President

 

January WASDE: Corn puts on a show!

• Corn & soy complex
  • Bearish surprise for U.S. corn via production
  • Soybean ending stocks higher as a result of paltry export demand
  • What gives with U.S. soybean oil stocks?
• Sugar
  • Louisiana cane production forecast breaks record!
  • Sugar deliveries forecast to drop, but by how much?
• Wheat
  • Catch up with wheat S&D on this Friday’s pod!
• Join us Wednesday, January 21 for our first webinar of the year!
  • Key Ingredients in 2026 Webinar: Anticipate Volatility & Plan Effectively
  • Clients, be on the lookout for your invite, or anyone can sign up now at mckeany-flavell.com

Host: Michael Caughlan, President & CEO
Expert: Nicole Thomas, Vice President – Information Services
Expert: Kevin Combs, Vice President – Global Sweeteners Specialist