1. Soybeans, Corn Little Changed Overnight; Wheat Lower

Soybeans and corn were little changed while wheat was lower ahead of today’s acreage and grain stocks reports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expected to peg corn acres at about 95.2 million in its second planting survey of the year, down almost 2% from the prior outlook due to unplanted area in North Dakota, according to a survey by Reuters.  

Growers instead will plant soybeans, which is estimated at 84.7 million acres, a 1.4% increase from the March forecast.

Corn stockpiles on June 1, meanwhile, are seen by analysts polled by Reuters at 4.951 billion bushels, which if realized would be the lowest in four years for that date.

Soybean inventories likely came in at 1.392 billion bushels, the second-highest on record for the beginning of June, the Reuters survey show.

Wheat ending stocks are likely going to be pegged at 980 million, a four-year low.

The USDA also released its weekly crop progress report yesterday that showed 73% of the corn crop was in good or excellent condition, up 1 percentage point from the previous week and ahead of the 56% that earned top ratings at the same time in 2019.

About 71% of the soybean crop was in good or excellent condition as of Sunday, up from 70% a week earlier and 54% the prior year, the agency said.

Down from 75% both a week and year earlier, 69% of spring wheat earned top ratings, the USDA said in its report.

Soybean futures fell ¼¢ to $8.61¼ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soymeal futures rose 20¢ to $283.80 a short ton, and soy oil lost 0.1¢ to 28.36¢ a pound.

Corn futures for July delivery fell 1¢ to $3.27¾ a bushel.

Wheat futures for July delivery dropped 4¢ to $4.82½ a bushel, while Kansas City futures dropped 2¼¢ to $4.34¼ a bushel. 

2. Export Inspections of Corn and Wheat Decline Week-to-Week

Export inspections of grains declined week-to-week while bean assessments improved, according to the USDA.

Inspections of corn for overseas delivery in the seven days that ended on June 25 fell to 1.23 million metric tons from 1.3 million tons a week earlier, the agency said in a report. Still, that’s well above the 284,923 tons inspected during the same week in 2019.

Wheat assessments were down to 515,359 metric tons from 686,036 tons the previous week and 696,142 tons at the same time last year, the USDA said.

Soybean inspections, meanwhile, improved weekly to 324,512 metric tons, up from 255,810 a week earlier. The total was well below the 720,842 tons examined for overseas delivery at the same point a year earlier.

Since the start of the marketing year on Sept. 1, the USDA has inspected 33.2 million metric tons of corn for overseas delivery, down from 41.8 million tons at the same point last year.

Soybean assessments since the start of September now stand at 36.8 million metric tons, down modestly from the 37.1 million tons inspected during the same time frame a year earlier, the agency said.

Wheat inspections since the grain’s marketing year started on June 1 are now at 2 million metric tons, up slightly from the 1.98 million tons assessed at the same point last year.

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3. Heat Advisory Issued For Parts of Western Kansas and Oklahoma

Hot weather is expected in eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, and parts of Texas today, according to the National Weather Service.

In eastern Kansas where a heat advisory is in effect, index values are pegged from 105°F. to 107°F., the NWS said in a report earlier this morning. The advisory runs from noon to 8 p.m. local time.

In parts of eastern Oklahoma, temperatures are expected to be as high as 109°F., the agency said.

In the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, meanwhile, a red-flag warning has been issued due to dangerously high fire conditions.

High temperatures, southwestern winds gusting up to 30 mph, and relative humidity as low as 8% will create tinderbox-like conditions, meaning wildfires can start very easily, the NWS said.