The corn and soybean harvest was still in its earliest phases in much of the Midwest, limiting deliveries of fresh supplies. But many processors and shippers had sufficient stockpiles left over from last year, limiting the potential for higher bids before harvesting picks up.
Bids for both crops fell at Midwest river terminals as freight costs rose sharply late last week on demand for empty vessels to haul corn and soybeans to Gulf Coast export terminals.
An elevator in Ottawa Lake, Michigan, received its first new-crop delivery of soybeans. The soybeans had a low average test weight of about 55 pounds per bushel, below typical specifications for 60 pounds, a grain merchant said.
Some farmers in the eastern half of the Midwest were expected to harvest their soybeans and then immediately plant soft red winter wheat seeds in those same fields. Outlooks for generally dry weather should speed crop maturity and aid wheat plantings, according to a grain merchant in Toledo, Ohio.