Grain Futures: As of 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 24, corn and wheat futures were higher compared to the week before, but soybeans were down.
December 2015 corn was posted at $3.815/bushel, up from $3.7975/bushel, while corn for March 2016 firmed to $3.9275/bushel from $3.91/bushel the week before. Contracts for December 2016 corn were $4.045/bushel, up from the prior week’s $4.0275/bushel.
Soybean prices for November 2015 were $8.68/bushel, down from $8.845/bushel the week before. January 2016 soybeans slipped to $8.725/bushel from the prior week’s $8.8875/bushel, while November 2016 soybeans were quoted at $8.755/bushel, down from $8.83/bushel at last report.
December 2015 wheat punched in at $4.9725/bushel, up from $4.815/bushel the week before, while July 2016 wheat contracts firmed to $5.12/bushel from the previous week’s $4.975/bushel. Wheat for July 2017 was $5.255/bushel, up from $5.21/bushel the week before.
Eastern Cornbelt: Sources reported another week of excellent harvest weather in the Eastern Cornbelt, with one contact describing conditions as “nearly perfect” for an accelerated push on corn and soybeans.
Illinois’ corn harvest was 13 percent complete by Sept. 20, still trailing the five-year average, but ahead of Indiana’s 8 percent and Ohio’s 3 percent. The soybean harvest was just 3-5 percent complete in the region by that date, only slightly behind the average pace.
USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to 53-54 percent of Illinois’ corn and soybeans last week, compared with 47-49 percent in Indiana and Ohio. One Illinois source reported no reliable yield data yet for his territory, but said growers are likely to “pull in an excellent crop.”
The region’s winter wheat crop was 2-3 percent planted by Sept. 20, with some talking of an expected reduction in wheat acreage this fall.
Western Cornbelt: Torrential overnight rains dropped more than five inches of rain on parts of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa on Sept. 22-23, prompting flash flood warnings and causing widespread power outages. Local reports said up to eight inches fell in some locations near Omaha, Neb., and Council Bluff, Iowa, along with hail and 60 mph wind gusts.
The precipitation caused some harvest delays in the region last week, but crop conditions remained favorable in Iowa and Nebraska overall. USDA reported that just 2-5 percent of the corn crop was in the bin in Iowa and Nebraska by Sept. 20, compared with 27 percent in Missouri. The regional soybean harvest was 1-3 percent complete by that date, while Missouri growers had 20 percent of the rice crop harvested.
USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to fully 73-79 percent of the corn and soybean acreage in Iowa and Nebraska last week, compared with 35-50 percent in Missouri. Good or excellent ratings were also assigned to 50 percent of Missouri’s rice crop and 42 percent of the state’s cotton acreage.
Southern Plains: Although strong storms battered parts of eastern Kansas, northeastern Oklahoma, and western New Mexico over the previous weekend, much of the Southern Plains region enjoyed favorable harvest weather last week. Temperatures in the 80s and 90s were reported across northern Texas at midweek, while central Kansas sources reported spotty showers.
Growers were harvesting corn, soybeans, cotton, and sorghum in the region last week. USDA assigned good or excellent ratings to 74 percent of Colorado’s corn crop, compared with 56-57 percent in Kansas and Texas. The Kansas soybean crop was also rated at 57 percent good or excellent last week, while cotton acreage in those two categories totaled 41 percent of the acreage in Texas and 64 percent in Kansas and Oklahoma.