Grain Futures: As of 4 p.m. on Oct. 16, corn, soybeans, and wheat were all higher compared to the week before.
December 2014 corn was posted at $3.5225/bushel, up from the previous week’s $3.4475/bushel. Corn for March 2015 was $3.6525/bushel, an increase from $3.5775/bushel the week before, and contracts for December 2015 corn were $3.97/bushel, also up from the prior week’s $3.90/bushel.
Soybean prices for November 2014 were $9.665/bushel, up from $9.42/bushel the week before. January 2015 soybeans were pegged at $9.7425/bushel, up from the prior week’s $9.50/bushel, and November 2015 soybeans rose to $9.7975/bushel from the previous week’s $9.64/bushel.
December 2014 wheat punched in at $5.17/bushel, up from the previous week’s $4.9325/bushel, while March 2015 wheat contracts traded at $5.2875/bushel, up from $5.0525/bushel the week before. Wheat for July 2015 also rose to $5.4275/bushel from the prior week’s $5.195/bushel.
Eastern Cornbelt: Severe thunderstorms pounded central and southern Illinois with rain, damaging winds, and at least seven confirmed tornados on Oct. 13. The storm system then pushed through Indiana and parts of Ohio, bringing wet weather to both states on Oct. 14.
The precipitation continued to slow the region’s harvest pace, with progress falling well behind the five-year average in both Illinois and Indiana. The regional soybean harvest was 26-29 percent complete as of Oct. 12, compared with 38-52 percent on average. The corn harvest was 35 percent complete in Illinois by that date, compared with 25 percent in Indiana and just 17 percent in Ohio.
Corn and soybean conditions remained very good despite the delays, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 79-83 percent of the acreage in Illinois and 74-77 percent in Indiana and Ohio.
Western Cornbelt: Iowa and Nebraska sources reported continued progress on the fall harvest last week. Southern Missouri growers, however, were slowed by severe storms early in the week, with some areas reporting tornado activity.
The corn harvest as of Oct. 12 was 51 percent complete in Missouri, well ahead of Nebraska’s 19 percent and Iowa’s 10 percent. Progress in all three states was well behind the five-year average, however. USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to fully 87 percent of Missouri’s corn crop last week, along with 75-76 percent of the acreage in Iowa and Nebraska.
The regional soybean harvest also trailed the average pace, with progress as of Oct. 12 rated at 45 percent complete in Nebraska, 39 percent in Iowa, and 16 percent in Missouri. USDA placed 74 percent of the region’s soybeans in the good or excellent categories last week. Missouri’s rice and cotton crops were 69 percent and 21 percent harvested, respectively, with 54 percent of the cotton acreage rated as good or excellent.
Southern Plains: Wet weather slowed the harvest pace in parts of Kansas and eastern Texas early in the week, but growers were hoping to be back in the field as the week progressed.
Drought conditions had eased considerably in the Southern Plains thanks to recent precipitation, but areas of extreme to exceptional drought – the two most severe categories – persisted in northern Texas, western Oklahoma, and northwestern New Mexico.
Kansas growers had 18 percent of the soybeans and 56 percent of the corn harvested by Oct. 12, with 52-56 percent of the acreage rated as good or excellent. Colorado’s corn harvest was only 14 percent complete by that date, compared with 70 percent in Texas, although crop conditions were better in both states, with 67-69 percent of the acreage falling in the good or excellent categories.
The cotton harvest was underway in