Hard red winter wheat basis bids were steady to higher Tuesday due to limited farmer selling even as the harvest advanced, grain merchants said. One trader in central-eastern Oklahoma said new-crop wheat had protein levels of up to 16 percent, adding that mills had to blend that with lower protein old-crop supplies.
"We are selling them old-crop wheat from our bins so that they can blend it with the new crop," a trader said. Another trader said a heat wave will be moving across southern Kansas this week, with temperatures topping 100 degrees Fahrenheit. USDA said on Monday 44 percent of the US winter wheat crop had been harvested as of Sunday, up from 31 percent the previous week and above the five-year average of 37 percent.