Grain Futures: As of 4 p.m. on April 9, corn, soybean, and wheat futures were all lower compared to the week before.
May 2015 corn was posted at $3.78/bushel, down from $3.865/bushel, and corn for July 2015 was $3.8575/bushel, a decrease from $3.945/bushel the week before. Contracts for December 2015 corn were $4.035/bushel, also down from the prior week’s $4.105/bushel.
Soybean prices for May 2015 were $9.535/bushel, down from $9.86/bushel one week earlier. July 2015 soybeans slipped to $9.5825/bushel from the prior week’s $9.9125/bushel, and November 2015 soybeans were quoted at $9.4525/bushel, a decrease from $9.7425/bushel the week before.
May 2015 wheat punched in at $5.1875/bushel, down from $5.3625/bushel, while July 2015 wheat contracts traded at $5.175/bushel, also down from the previous week’s $5.3575/bushel. Wheat for September 2015 was $5.255/bushel, down from $5.4425/bushel one week earlier.
Eastern Cornbelt: Strong storms pounded the Eastern Cornbelt on April 7-9, bringing damaging winds, hail, and heavy rains to many areas.
Flash flood warning were in effect in southern Indiana on April 7 due to powerful thunderstorms that produced torrential rains and baseball-sized hail in some locations. There were also midweek reports of wind damage in Evansville.
Ohio was also hit with lightening, hail, and damaging winds on April 8-9. “It’s very wet, with no field activity whatsoever,” said one Ohio contact at midweek. “It’ll probably be a week before we could get back in the fields, as wet as we currently are.”
Forecasts on April 9 had nearly all of Illinois at some risk of hail, damaging winds, heavy rains, and possibly tornados. There were reports of 70 mph wind gusts in some northern areas of the state, with flash flood warnings in effect in eastern Illinois.
Sources reported minimal fieldwork in the region due to the weather conditions, although there were reports of heavy preplant ammonia moving in Illinois early in the week. “We just need to get to the fields to support the markets,” said one source. “I think we could potentially see some major logistic problems building if this all breaks wide open at the same time.”
Western Cornbelt: A powerful storm system kept things wet and windy for much of the Western Cornbelt late last week, and brought most field activities to a stop as the week progressed.
Thunderstorms were reported across southern and central Iowa on April 9, with reports of 50-60 mph winds and large hail in some areas. One source said rainfall had been spotty in his immediate area, but some locations nearby had received up to 3 inches. More thunderstorms were in Iowa’s weekend forecast.
The same system also produced damaging winds and large hail in central and eastern Missouri, with reports of a tornado in Potosi, Mo., and torrential rain and hail in the St. Louis area. Dutzow, Mo., received 2.25 inches of rain in just 30 minutes on April 9.
Nebraska was also in the storm’s path, with forecasts calling for up to 3 inches of snow in western areas of the state, and a mix of rain and snow in the eastern counties.
Southern Plains: Sources reported “moderate” activity in the Southern Plains region last week, but weather continued to limit fieldwork in some areas. As the week progressed, forecasters warned of severe storms and possible tornado activity in northern Oklahoma and southeastern Kansas.
Areas of extreme to exceptional drought persisted last week across much of western Oklahoma, northern Texas, and parts of southern Kansas.
Texas growers had 1 percent of the cotton, 23 percent of the sorghum, and 21 percent of the rice planted by April 5,