The swift rise in soybean futures last week to nearly $10.80 a bushel following USDA’s crop report had farmers rushing to lock-in prices for their 2016 harvest.

Grain dealers across the Midwest said sales of new-crop soybeans surged after the report, while new-crop corn sales were considerably less.

“The farmers did a good job selling the rally,” said dealer in central Illinois. “They could make some money on new-crop bean prices, while the corn was break-even at best.”

Iowa dealers had similar reports with sales of new-crop soybeans easily outpacing those of corn.

Old-crop sales of both crops remained fairly light as much of that business was done before planting began.

Soybean sales surged after last week's USDA crop report sent prices over $10 a bushel. (Photo: keattikorn/Thinkstock)

Farmers were able plant in Iowa and central Illinois late last week and through much of the weekend, before rain slowed planting. Dealers in central and western Iowa said corn in their service area may be more than 90% planted.

USDA’s weekly crop progress released late on Monday showed 75% of the nation’s corn was planted as of Sunday and 36% of the soybeans. Both of those numbers are ahead of the five-year averages. The report said Iowa was 88% done on corn, Illinois 83%, Indiana 45% and Ohio 34%.

Corn barges destined for Gulf export points are being loaded this week on the mid-Mississippi as the river continues to offer competitive best bids compared with local processors. However, river bids for corn and soybeans had weakened a few cents since last week.

Nearly 997,000 tons of grain were shipped by barge during the week ended May 7, up 13% from the prior week and up 39% from a year ago, USDA’s Grain Transportation Report said.

Barge rates were higher on the Mississippi River last week but lower on the Illinois and Ohio rivers. Rates on the upper-Mississippi were up 8 percentage points, on the mid-Mississippi up 2, near St. Louis up 2 and on the lower Illinois down 3. The rates are also down from a year ago at all reported locations.

For truckers, the U.S. average diesel fuel price increased 1/2 cent to $2.266 a gallon in the week ended May 9, but that is down nearly 61 cents from the same week last year.

USDA’s weekly export inspections on Monday had corn shipments at 43.7 million bushels, down slightly from 45 million a week ago. Japan, Mexico and South Korea were the leading destinations.

Soybean shipments of 7.2 million bushels were up from the prior week and under the pace needed to meet USDA’s annual forecast. Bangladesh, Mexico and Indonesia were the leading destinations.

Wheat shipments of 13.5 million bushels were down from a week ago. Japan, Mexico and China were the leading destinations.

Weekly Grain Movement - May 3, 2016 - River market remains competitive; expanded Panama Canal to open June 26

Weekly Grain Movement - May 10, 2016 - Rain-idled farmers not ready to sell more grain