The Corn Belt is staying too wet up north, and it’s too dry in the southwest Plains. Some areas in between look great. The USDA Crop Progress report showed corn planting behind normal and even with a big push this week, it is likely to stay way behind normal in the report next Monday. For spring wheat, it is even worse.
The USDA Crop progress report on Monday showed corn plantings at 22%. This is below what the trade had expected and is behind last year’s pace of 64% and the five-year average of 50%. The report showed that just 20 million acres of corn had been planted compared with 45 million acres in the five-year average. Soybean planting advanced to 12%, which compares with the five-year average of 24%. Spring wheat plantings came in at 27%, which is 20% behind the five-year average and the forecast is wet again this week for North Dakota. I now think North Dakota alone could have 2 million acres prevent plant.
In the early grain trade, after starting out lower, July Corn is now up 1½¢, July soybeans are trading 8¢ higher, and wheat futures are 3¢ to 8¢ higher.
In the outside markets, crude oil is down 10¢ per barrel, the U.S. stock market has turned higher, and livestock futures steady to higher.
About the Author: Al Kluis has been a commodity advisor and broker since 1976. Kluis is an introducing broker with Wedbush Futures and writes a column, Your Profit, which appears in every issue of Successful Farming magazine. Kluis has published two books on commodities trading and is commonly quoted in major publications including the Wall Street Journal. He is also a featured speaker at commodity conferences nationwide. Kluis is a frequent market analyst for the Linder Farm Radio News Network. A Minnesota farm boy, Kluis was awarded his degree in ag economics from the University of Minnesota in 1974, after which he was executive director of the Minnesota Soybean Association before entering the markets full-time. His family still farms in southwest Minnesota, and Kluis enjoys helping with fieldwork when the markets allow.
