Spot basis bids were mostly steady for corn, soyabeans and soft red winter wheat around the US Midwest on Friday as futures for each crop rose sharply but farmers remained largely on the sidelines, grain merchants said. Some farmers in the western part of the region were busy planting corn while farmers in the eastern Corn Belt waited until they could plant before selling supplies they intend to harvest later this year.
Few sales of either crop seen this week amid rainy weather and uncertainty about the planting season. Corn and soyabean bids were firm on the upper Mississippi River as shippers sought to entice farmer sales before they can resume barge transportation sometime next week. Rains across much of the Midwest kept many farmers out of the fields this week while high water levels slowed and prevented loadings at river terminals.
Barge freight costs were steady on Friday following gains earlier this week on the Mississippi River at St. Louis and the Illinois River. The Ohio River remained closed. Soyabean bids fell 5 cents at a central Iowa processor, pressured by soyabean futures' biggest one-day bounce in more than a month.