Farmer selling of corn was moderate this past week when futures were trading about $3.70 a bushel, but selling quickly slowed with the market under that level, Midwest dealers said.

Cash soybean sales have been light throughout the past week, even when futures prices were above $8.80, they said. Part of that was due to processors and shippers in some lowering basis bids a few cents.

Farmer selling is still expected to be moderate this month as cash will be needed to buy seeds and inputs for spring planting. Also, in some areas, cash rent payments are due March 1.

Cash soybean sales have been light throughout the past week.

Blizzard conditions in western Iowa on Monday discouraged farmer selling and disrupted grain operations at elevators. Strong wind was blowing snow that was on the ground from a previous storm making roads hazardous due to low visibility. Weather maps show the storm moving east to the Great Lakes region later this week with some snow in the eastern Midwest.

Regarding grain movement, corn trains continue to move out of Illinois to the Southeast poultry and ethanol markets, however basis bids by those buyers dropped about 2 cents in the past week. Also, a local Illinois processor dropped its corn basis bid about few cents.

Soybeans continued to stay local in Iowa and Illinois, with a river dealer reporting the basis at the gulf export markets dropped a few cents since last week. Export business is shifting to South America, where Argentina and Brazil are expected to have big harvests.

Crop futures have been trending lower, reflecting the lower equity and crude oil markets. Concerns about slowing global economies have weighed on a number of markets.

China is on holiday this week celebrating the lunar new year and in South Armerica the carnival is under way.

USDA’s weekly export inspections on Monday had soybean shipments at about 43.1 million bushels, down about 2% from a week ago, but more than is needed to meet USDA’s annual forecast. The shipments were down 21% from a year ago. China was the leading destination, with Indonesia, Netherlands, Turkey and Egypt taking large amounts. Year-to-date shipments for the crop year are down about 13% from a year ago.

Corn export shipments of 17.3 million bushels, were down about 40% from a week ago and less than what is needed to meet USDA’s annual forecast.  Colombia, Japan and Mexico were the leading destinations. Year-to-date shipments are down about 21% from a year ago.

Weekly wheat shipments of 14.6 million bushels were up about 40% from a week ago but are down from what was needed to meet USDA’s annual forecast. The shipments were up slightly from a year. Japan, Taiwan and Jordan were the leading destinations. Year-to-date shipments for the crop year that began June 1, 2015, are down 12% from a year ago. 

USDA’s grain transportation report released last week said grain rail car loadings for the week ended Jan. 23 were down about 10% from a year ago.

In the report’s fuel segment, USDA said the average retail U.S. diesel fuel price on highways for the week ended Feb. 1 was $2.031 per gallon, down 4 cents from the previous week and down 80 cents from a year ago.

Weekly Grain Movement - 2/2 - Snow storm dominates talk early in February

Weekly Grain Movement - 1/26 - Farmers sell corn, soybeans