The best hope for a rally in corn and soybean prices is continued growth in global meat consumption, which is driving expansion in the U.S. livestock herd, says Chad Hart, Iowa State University (ISU) Extension grain markets specialist.

“When you’re looking at what’s going to turn the crop markets around, it’s probably going to be the livestock industry,” Hart said at the ISU Pro Ag Outlook seminar in Carroll. “From a crop perspective, that’s what I need to rely on. This is the light at the end of the tunnel that will eventually help push prices higher.”

Profits since 2014 have fueled expansion of the U.S. pork herd and ...