Grain Futures: As of 4 p.m. on July 30, corn, soybean, and wheat futures were all lower compared to the week before.
For September 2015, corn was $3.7175 /bushel, down from $4.0325/bushel in the previous report. The December 2015 price for corn was $3.8225/bushel, lower than $4.1375/bushel the week before, and trading of March 2016 corn contracts checked in at $3.93/bushel, a fall from $4.235/bushel.
The August 2015 soybean price was $9.90/bushel, falling from $10.10/bushel. Soybeans for November 2015 were $9.4925/bushel, down from the previous week’s $9.805/bushel. Beans for January 2016 were posted at $9.5375/bushel, lower than $9.8625/bushel in the last report.
Wheat for September 2015 was $4.9775/bushel, down from the prior period’s $5.215/bushel. December 2015 wheat was $5.0525/bushel, a decrease from $5.2875/bushel, and July 2016 wheat contracts traded at $5.1925/bushel, lower than the $5.405/bushel reported last.
Eastern Cornbelt: The region’s excessive rainfall this summer continued to stress corn and soybean crops last week. Agriculture officials in Illinois announced in late July that they will seek a federal disaster declaration for rain-related crop damage this summer, making farmers eligible for loans and possibly emergency funding.
As of July 26, USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to 49-57 percent of the corn and soybean acres in Illinois, compared with 41-47 percent in Indiana and Ohio. Illinois growers had 95 percent of the winter wheat crop harvested by July 26, while harvest progress in Indiana and Ohio had surged to 91 percent and 81 percent, respectively.
Western Cornbelt: Another powerful storm brought torrential rains to Iowa on July 28, with several locations setting daily rainfall totals.
Des Moines received 2.44 inches on July 28, while some southern locations in the state saw 5 inches of rain in 24 hours. The late-month drenching pushed many locations to record precipitation totals for the month, including 7.17 inches in Des Moines, 7.47 inches in Ankeny, and 9.01 inches in Chariton.
USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to 76-83 percent of the corn and soybeans in Iowa last week, compared with 72-74 percent in Nebraska. Missouri’s crops were struggling due to too much rainfall, however, with just 30-51 percent of the corn and soybean acreage rated as good or excellent last week.
Missouri’s cotton was 34 percent good or excellent as of July 26, while 60 percent of the state’s rice fell in those two categories last week. Missouri’s sorghum crop was just 39 percent good or excellent, compared with 71 percent in Nebraska.
California: Flash flood warnings were issued at midweek for parts of Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties as powerful thunderstorms brought heavy rains to parts of California. The additional moisture came just one week after Hurricane Dolores brought unseasonably heavy rainfall to Southern California.
High heat prevailed in Northern California last week. California’s cotton and rice crops were maturing ahead of normal, with good or excellent ratings assigned to 80 percent of the rice and 90 percent of the cotton as of July 26.
Pacific Northwest: Gusty winds continued to fan a number of wildfires in central Washington, while sweltering temperatures settled over Oregon in the second half of July. Western Montana, by contrast, was experiencing cold, wet weather during the last week of July, with snowfall even reported at higher elevations.
The U.S. drought monitor continued to show severe drought across Washington and northern Idaho, with severe-to-extreme drought conditions covering Oregon and northwestern Montana. Most of Wyoming and eastern Montana were drought-free last we