As of 4 p.m. on Aug. 7, corn and wheat were rising on the futures market compared with the week before, but soybeans were on the decline.
Corn contracts for September 2014 clocked in at $3.595/bushel, a slight jump from the previous week’s $3.57/bushel. December 2014 corn was $3.7125/bushel, up from $3.67/bushel the week before, while corn for March 2015 firmed to $3.8425/bushel from the prior week’s $3.795/bushel.
The November 2014 soybean price fell to $10.78/bushel from $10.82/bushel a week earlier. Soybeans for January 2015 were put at $10.865/bushel, down from the previous week’s $10.9025/bushel, while soybeans for March 2015 were posted at $10.94/bushel.
Wheat for September 2014 was $5.615/bushel, up considerably from the previous week’s $5.3025/bushel. December 2014 wheat was also up, at $5.79/bushel from the prior week’s $5.5025/bushel. Contracts for July 2015 wheat were listed at $6.185/bushel, also above the $5.9575/bushel they traded at the week before.
Eastern Cornbelt: Abnormally cool temperatures in July helped push parts of the Eastern Cornbelt into the record books, with several locations postings their coolest July ever, including Urbana, Ill., Indianapolis Ind., and Decatur, Ill.
Temperatures statewide in Illinois also tied the record for cool July weather, with the monthly average coming in at 70.3 degrees, or five degrees below average.
The combination of cool temperatures and adequate rainfall benefited the region’s corn and soybean crops. USDA on Aug. 3 assigned good or excellent ratings to fully 77-81 percent of the corn and soybeans in Illinois, along with 70-76 percent of the acreage in Indiana and Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: Sources said heat and humidity returned to parts of the Western Cornbelt last week after an unseasonably cool July. Missouri posted its second coolest average temperature on record for the month of July, coming in at 72.8 degrees, or roughly 4.8 degrees below normal.
The combination of cool temperatures and a wet June did much to alleviate drought in the region, with only abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions persisting across southern Nebraska and western Missouri in early August.
The region’s crops benefited as a result, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 72-82 percent of the regional corn crop and 70-74 percent of the soybeans. Missouri’s rice crop was 59 percent headed and 65 percent good or excellent as of Aug. 3, while 60 percent of the state’s cotton crop registered as good or excellent.
Northern Plains: Crop development in the Northern Plains was catching up to the normal pace despite cool summer temperatures and a wet spring.
USDA placed fully 74-79 percent of North Dakota’s corn and soybeans in the good or excellent categories as of Aug. 3, along with 69-71 percent of the acreage in South Dakota and 65-69 percent in Minnesota. As for small grains, some 81-84 percent of North Dakota’s spring wheat and barley were rated as good or excellent last week, compared with 78 percent in South Dakota and 48-54 percent in Minnesota.
Great Lakes: The Great Lakes region finally got some heat in early August, but temperatures so far this summer have been noticeably cool, with one source describing weather conditions as “downright chilly” for most of June and July.
The cool weather has delayed corn development in the region, with one Michigan source reporting last week that “a lot of corn in the central part of the state and north is not tasseled yet.” Crop conditions were good overall, however, with fully 72-77 percent of the regional corn acreage rated as good or excellent last week, along with 65-71 percent of the soybeans.
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