US Cash Grains-Soy processor bids ease as harvest gets rolling

CHICAGO: Spot basis bids for soybeans declined at several US Midwest crushing locations on Monday as the harvest got underway and last week's climb in Chicago Board of Trade soybean and corn futures encouraged farmer sales, dealers said.

Corn basis bids weakened at ethanol production sites as well.

The harvest of both crops is well underway following a dry weekend in most of the Corn Belt. Forecasts called for continued dry conditions this week that should help speed field work, although rains in the Mississippi Delta region may slow progress there.

Ahead of the US Department of Agriculture's weekly crop progress report due later on Monday, analysts surveyed by Reuters on average expected the government to report the US corn harvest as 11% complete and the soybean harvest as 5% complete.

Corn processor bids were steady to weaker, with a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, location dropping its basis by 3 cents per bushel.

Soybean processors were mixed, with a Lincoln, Nebraska, location strengthening its bid by 20 cents per bushel, while a processor in Lafayette, Indiana, dropped its basis by 10 cents per bushel.

Corn basis at river terminals was also mixed, with a Seneca, Illinois, location adding 1 cent per bushel to its bid, while Davenport, Iowa, trimmed its basis by a cent per bushel. Corn bids at ethanol plants were flat, as were wheat bids.

As harvest picks up across the Midwest, one Indiana grain dealer said yields are strong across Indiana and Ohio in early fields.