Soybeans Higher in Overnight Trading; Harvest Pace Behind 5-Year Pace Amid Wet Weather

(Agriculture.com) – SOYBEANS HIGHER OVERNIGHT ON SLOW PACE OF HARVEST

Soybean futures were modestly higher in overnight trading amid a slower-than-normal harvest while grains were little changed.

Soybean and corn collection was behind their respective five-year paces as of Sunday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a report on Monday. Excessive rainfall has kept growers out of fields and is threatening yields by causing fungal diseases.

A large storm that’s making its way through the center of the country may have delayed the harvest, but drier weather is expected as it dissipates over eastern Iowa and western Illinois.

Soybeans for November delivery rose 2 cents to $9.47 ¼ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal futures for December delivery gained $1.50 to $299.10 a short ton and soy oil fell 0.24 cent to 33.11 cents a pound.

Corn futures for December delivery fell ¼ cent to $3.28 ¾ a bushel.

Wheat futures for December delivery rose 1 ½ cents to $3.97 ½ a bushel in Chicago, while Kansas City futures added ½ cent to $4.14 ½ a bushel.

HARVEST PACE BEHIND AVERAGE AS RAIN KEEPS GROWERS OUT OF FIELDS

As expected, the pace of harvest is behind the five-year average thanks to all of the wet weather in the past week.

As much as six times the normal amount of rain has fallen in several parts of the Midwest in the past seven days, according to the National Weather Service. A wide swath of land that includes almost all of Texas, parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, western Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin has been inundated with rain for the past seven days, according to the National Weather Service.

Only 4% of corn in Iowa has been harvested so far, below the five-year average of 11%, according to the Department of Agriculture. In Kansas, 29% was collected as of Sunday, well below the average of 40% for this time of year.

Nationally, 15% of corn has been collected, behind the five-year pace of 19%, USDA data show. Some 10% of soybeans have been harvested.

In Iowa, growers have only collected 2% of soybeans, half the normal amount, while Illinois farmers are 6% complete with the harvest, below the 9% average pace, according to the USDA.

A large storm stretching from Wisconsin to Texas likely slowed dry down of fields and collection of crops early this week, but drier weather is expected for much of the Midwest as the week goes on, according to weather forecasters.

Whether it’s dry enough to actually speed up the harvest remains to be seen.

STORMS GIVE WAY TO DRY WEATHER; PARTS OF ILLINOIS UNDER THREAT OF WILDFIRES

The same storm system that caused flooding in parts of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin has dissipated as it headed into Illinois and Indiana, according to the National Weather Service.

Flash flood watches and warnings are still in effect for Iowa, but drier weather is expected in much of Illinois today, the NWS said in a report on Tuesday. The weather is expected to be so dry with such low relative humidity that parts of Illinois and Missouri are under threat of wildfires.

“There is an elevated fire danger this afternoon across parts of northeast Missouri and west-central Illinois due to the combination of dry fuels, sustained winds between 12 and 15 miles an hour, and relative humidity of 25% to 30%,” the NWS said.

In Iowa, the threat of fires is also high in areas where flooding isn’t a problem, mostly south of Interstate 80, the agency said.