Grain Futures: As of 4 p.m. on Aug. 14, corn prices were up from the previous week, but soybean and wheat contracts were lower.
September 2014 corn was posted at $3.62/bushel, up from the previous week’s $3.595/bushel. Corn for December 2014 was also up at $3.735/bushel from the prior week’s $3.7125/bushel, while contracts for March 2015 corn were reported at $3.8675/bushel, a slight bump up from $3.8425/bushel the week before.
Soybean prices for November 2014 were $10.56/bushel, down from $10.78/bushel the week before. January 2015 soybeans were pegged at $10.6475/bushel, also below the prior week’s $10.865/bushel, while November 2015 soybeans were reported at $10.61/bushel.
September 2014 wheat punched in at $5.3725/bushel, down from $5.615/bushel the week before, while December 2014 wheat contracts fell to $5.5275/bushel from the previous week’s $5.79/bushel. Wheat for July 2015 was down as well, to $5.9525/bushel from the prior week’s $6.185/bushel.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources reported rainfall across parts of northern Ohio early in the week, but conditions were generally dry elsewhere in the Eastern Cornbelt at mid-month.
USDA continued to report exceptional crop conditions in the region, with fully 72-82 percent of the corn and 67-78 percent of the soybeans rated as good or excellent as of Aug. 10. Crops conditions nationally were equally as impressive, with 73 percent of the corn and 70 percent of the soybeans falling in the good or excellent categories last week.
Western Cornbelt: The small areas of abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions that persisted in southern Nebraska continued to shrink in early August, thanks to additional rainfall. A cluster of powerful thunderstorms moved through south-central Nebraska on Aug. 9-10, inundating Kearney with more than four inches of rain and causing flash floods.
Crop conditions in the Western Cornbelt remained very favorable at mid-month. USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to fully 76-83 percent of Missouri’s corn and soybean acreage last week, compared with 75-76 percent in Iowa and 70-71 percent in Nebraska. Missouri’s rice crop was 67 percent good or excellent, an increase from the prior week, while 60 percent of the state’s cotton acreage remained in the good or excellent categories last week.
Southern Plains: Severe to extreme drought persisted across western Kansas, western Oklahoma, northern Texas, and southeastern Colorado in mid-August, but areas of exceptional drought – the worst drought category – were limited to just a few small patches in Texas.
New Mexico in particular has benefited from recent rains, including heavy downpours at midweek that prompted flash flood watches for the western half of the state. In fact, in a reverse from last year at this time, New Mexico’s sorghum crop was rated as fully 70 percent good or excellent last week, compared with 71 percent in Oklahoma, 56-58 percent in Kansas and Texas, and just 30 percent in Colorado.
As for other crops, USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to 65-70 percent of the corn acres in Texas and Colorado last week, while 55-56 percent of the corn and soybeans in Kansas were placed in those two categories. Good or excellent ratings were also assigned to 58-65 percent of the cotton acreage in Kansas and Oklahoma, compared with 37 percent in Texas.
South Central: After a chilly July that registered as one of the coolest on record for Arkansas, the South Central region saw a return to seasonal conditions in early August.
Louisiana and Mississippi were enjoying very favorable crop conditions, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 79-82 percent of the soybeans, 80-86 percent of the ric