By DTN Staff

OMAHA (DTN) -- Here are the Top 5 things the DTN Newsroom is tracking for the week of Aug. 16. Watch for coverage of these and other topics throughout the week on our subscription platforms as well as on www.DTNPF.com.

Note that all report release times are Central Daylight Time unless otherwise noted.

1. Harvest watch: With the 2026 DTN Digital Yield Tour and August World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) in our rearview mirror, we'll continue to track the damaging storms and other weather events shaping the 2026 crops. Despite increases in USDA's planted acreage for corn and soybeans, a slight drop in expected yields and continued strong demand gives an unusual bullish feeling as we head into harvest.

2. Weather systems continue: A front and system will move into the Corn Belt for Tuesday and Wednesday, continuing periods of showers through the end of the week. The details are still uncertain, but conditions should be largely mild across the north but hot across the south. Clusters of showers and thunderstorms continue, though the Red River Valley may be missed. The extreme heat and humidity in the Delta region will largely continue, though there is an outside chance for rain late in the week.

3. South American outlook: Several fronts in southern Brazil will continue to produce rainfall into the week, favorable for vegetative winter wheat. Wheat should turn reproductive during the next few weeks. The rains are adding soil moisture ahead of the soybean planting in September. The strengthening El Nino is largely unfavorable for central Brazil, which could impact both soybean and corn production in the coming year. In Argentina, cold weather continues to dominate, though frosts shouldn't be damaging to winter wheat.

4. El Nino on steroids. Conditions continue to show we're in for historic El Nino levels. All of the members of the International Multi-Model Ensemble (IMME) agree that this year's El Nino event, which will likely peak in November or December, should be the strongest on record. For the latest on the subject, see our Ag Weather Forum column here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

5. Reports due this week: Monday at 7:30 a.m., the Empire State manufacturing survey for August. At 9 a.m., Home Builders Confidence Index. At 10 a.m., Grain Inspections. At 3 p.m., Crop Progress including DTN analysis. Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., Housing Starts and Building Permits for July and Import Price Index data. At 8:15 a.m., Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, then at 9 a.m., NAR Pending Home Sales Index. Wednesday at 9 a.m., Outlook at Risk, with EIA Weekly Petroleum Status report including ethanol production and inventory at 9:30 a.m. At 1 p.m., the minutes of the Fed July FOMC meeting are released. Thursday at 7:30 a.m., Grain Export Sales, Initial Jobless Claims and Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Survey. At 10:30 a.m. the Weekly Economic Index. At 2 p.m., Livestock Slaughter and Slaughter Weekly. Friday at 8:45 a.m., S&P Flash U.S. Services P.M.I and S& PFlash U.S. manufacturing P.M.I data for August. At 9 a.m., U.S. Leading Economic Indicators. At 2 p.m., Cattle on Feed, Milk Production and County Estimates for Cash Rents.

**

BONUS DTN CONTENT:

The 2026 Digital Yield Tour results for all states covered by the tour can be found here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Updated yield model results will be shared in early September on DTN's online products.

You can view a Reporter's Notebook that previewed the Digital Yield Tour and its methodology at https://www.dtnpf.com/… and the post-tour Reporter's Notebook video at https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Also, later in August you can hear a Field Posts Podcast about the tour results. You can find DTN Field Posts podcasts at https://dtn.link/…, or https://www.dtnpf.com/… and they're also available on podcast hosting sites such as Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Watch for the latest news at www.dtnpf.com, and follow and like our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dtnprogressivefarmer. You can find our news on Instagram as well. Give us a follow @dtn.agnews

(c) Copyright 2026 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.