Beans, Grains Little Changed Overnight; U.S. Planting Progress Still Behind

(Agriculture.com) –  1. Soybeans, Grains Little Changed as Investors Weigh Planting Report

Soybeans and corn were little changed overnight as investors weight slow planting in some states with surprisingly quick seeding in others.

The crop progress report showed that while growers in the U.S. as a whole were still behind the average pace of planting, some states – mostly those outside the eastern Midwest – were relatively far along.

Still, investors looking at weather maps for the next few days are realizing that little, if any, corn and soybeans will be seeded in much of Indiana, Michigan and Ohio as rainfall and ensuing floods continue.

The markets also are quiet ahead of tomorrow’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, analysts said.

Soybean futures for July delivery fell ¼ cent to $9.64 ¼ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal lost 20 cents to $313.40 a short ton and soy oil gained 0.04 cent to 32.98 cents a pound.

Corn futures for July delivery rose ¾ cent to $3.66 ¾ a bushel.

Wheat futures for July delivery rose ½ cent to $4.34 a bushel and Kansas City wheat added ½ cent to $4.44 ¾ a bushel overnight.

2. Corn, Soybean Planting Behind Pace as Michigan, Wisconsin Lag 

U.S. growers in much of the eastern Midwest were kept from fields by incessant rainfall while their counterparts in the western and central Midwest spent most days planting last week.

About 47% of the U.S. corn crop was planted as of May 7, behind the five-year average pace of 52% for last week, according to the Department of Agriculture.

In Indiana, where as much as six times the normal amount of rain has fallen in the past week, the pace is surprisingly ahead of normal, but only because farmers got such an early start this year.

In Michigan, however, only 10% of the crop is in the ground, well behind the average of 27%, and in Wisconsin, 15% is planted, less than half the normal average of32%.

About 14% of soybeans are planted, behind the average of 17%, according to the USDA.

In Indiana, 14% is in the ground, behind the average of 16%, and in Iowa, only 9% is seeded versus the average of 14%. The two are the biggest soybean producers in the U.S.

Indiana growers are 19% finished, but managed to only get 3% of the crop in the ground last week, leaving it just ahead of the normal pace due to the early start. Michigan farmers have only planted 1% of their soybean crop, well behind the five-year average of 11% for this time of year.

3. Scattered Rainfall Expected From Arizona to Missouri This Week

Scattered showers are expected for much of the week stretching from Arizona to the central Plains, according to the National Weather Service.

“Expect scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms from Arizona to the central Plains, with the greatest rainfall amounts likely from eastern Colorado to northern Missouri,” the NWS said in a forecast early on Tuesday morning. “Severe weather will be possible from Texas to Kansas with moisture returning northward from the Gulf of Mexico.”

Freeze and frost warnings also have been issued for much of the northern Plains including Wisconsin and Michigan. The cold weather and incessant rain in both of those states have mostly kept farmers out of fields thus far, leading to lots of unplanted fields