Wheat Futures Lower Overnight; Grain Inspections Decline Week to Week.

(agriculture.com) – 1. WHEAT FALLS AS WINTER PLANTING, SPRING HARVEST PROGRESS

Wheat futures were lower in overnight trading as the USDA’s Crop Progress Report showed winter wheat planting was moving along as normal and the spring wheat harvest was moving along.

About 22% of the winter wheat crop was planted as of Sunday, just behind the normal pace of 24% for this time of year, the USDA said in a report.

In Kansas (the biggest grower of winter varieties), 15% was seeded vs. the normal 16%.

Producers in the Northern Plains had harvested 87% of the spring wheat crop at the start of this week, which is still behind the average of 97%, but up 11 percentage points from the previous week, the agency said.

In North Dakota (the biggest producer of spring wheat), about 85% of the crop was out of the ground, compared with the normal 95% for this week, the USDA said.

The U.S. corn harvest, meanwhile, was 7% finished vs. the prior five-year average of 11%, the agency said. Still, only 29% of the crop was mature at the start of the week compared with the normal 57%.

Some 57% of the corn crop earned good or excellent ratings, up from 55% a week ago.

Soybean maturity also remains well behind the normal pace with only 34% dropping leaves against the average of 59% for this time of year. Fifty-four percent was rated good or excellent, unchanged from the previous week, the USDA said.

Wheat for September delivery fell 4¾¢ to $4.78¼ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade, while Kansas City futures lost 3¢ to $4.03 a bushel.

Corn futures for December delivery lost 2¾¢ to $3.70½ a bushel.

Soybean futures for November delivery rose ½¢ to $8.93 a bushel overnight. Soy meal added 80¢ to $299.40 a short ton, while soybean oil fell 0.16¢ to 29.15¢ a pound.

2. WEEKLY CORN, WHEAT INSPECTIONS FOR OFFSHORE DELIVERY DECLINE, SOYBEAN ASSESSMENTS IMPROVE

Inspections of U.S. corn and wheat for overseas delivery dropped week to week, while soybean assessments surged, according to the USDA.

The government inspected 233,993 metric tons of corn for offshore delivery in the seven days that ended on September 19, down from 423,129 tons the previous week. During the same week in 2018, the USDA inspected 1.35 million tons of the grain.

Examinations of wheat totaled 476,173 metric tons last week, down from 517,550 during the previous seven-day period, the agency said. The total was still higher than the 429,193 tons inspected at the same time last year.

Soybean inspections, meanwhile, were reported at 922,550 metric tons, up from 668,496 tons the previous week and 719,339 tons during the same week a year earlier.

Since the start of the marketing year on September 1, corn inspections were reported at 1.13 million metric tons, well behind the 3.08 million tons the USDA had assessed during the same period a year earlier.

Soybean inspections since the beginning of the month now stand at 2.16 million metric tons, just behind the year-earlier pace of 2.34 million tons, according to the government.

Wheat inspections since the start of the grain’s marketing year on June 1 are now at 8 million metric tons, ahead of the 6.55 million metric tons inspected at this time in 2018.

3. SEVERE WEATHER POSSIBLE IN EASTERN NEBRASKA THROUGH MUCH OF IOWA TUESDAY

Severe weather is expected in parts of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa today, while some showers are forecast for northern Illinois, according to the National Weather Service.

Storms in eastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa could spur a tornado or damaging winds tonight, the agency said. The biggest threat will be from about 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. with locally heavy rainfall of more than an inch.

The storms will be “progressive,” which means they’ll be moving quickly, which should limit any flood potential. Still, the Missouri River between Nebraska and Iowa continues to be above flood stage, shutting some highways and roads and flooding low-lying fields.

In central Iowa, there’s a “slight risk” of storms this evening that could bring large hail and damaging winds to the area, the NWS said in a report early this morning.

Adverse weather is expected the rest of the week and into the weekend, the agency said.

Farther east, some light showers and thunderstorms are possible in parts of northern Illinois and Indiana today, though sever weather isn’t in the forecast.