April 13 Floor Talk

[Jeff_a_Caldwell]

At the close: The grains pulled back from sharper gains earlier in the session to close mixed on Wednesday.

At the end of Wednesday's session, nearby corn futures were 3 cents higher at $7.55 1/2 per bushel, while nearby soybeans were 3 3/4 cents higher at $13.33 1/2. Wheat ended the day 6 3/4 cents lower.

Corn and soybeans remained on the plus side Wednesday based mostly on continued tight supply concerns for corn as well as a weather forecast that isn't the greatest for spring planting in the Corn Belt. On the other hand, wheat stumbled Wednesday because of "initial advances on improved weather outlooks for winter wheat crops and sluggish export demand," according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

• more on Wednesday's wheat move 

Something kind of cool that a couple folks here put together -- if you get rained out in the next few days, here's a list of things you could maybe do to your planter to save a little time once you can get back rolling:

• Planter ideas  

And, I couldn't pass this one up -- seems some young gents on YouTube have taken a little liking to the theme song to our Machinery Show TV program. Check out their rendition here -- what do you think? Should we give them an audition?!

• Machinery Show "rockabilly" cover 

I think Mike will be back in tomorrow, unless he falls into a mudhole over there in the Illinois countryside between now and tomorrow morning, so you'll be back in good hands tomorrow. Have a good one!

Jeff

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At mid-day, nearby corn futures are 10 3/4 cents higher per bushel at $7.63 1/4, while nearby soybeans are 13 cents higher at $13.42 3/4. Nearby wheat is 2 1/2 cents higher at $7.62 per bushel.

Concerns about tight domestic corn stocks and a weather forecast that could result in a lot of planters sitting still the next few days are largely fueling Wednesday's uptrend. That latter factor could be in the mix for several days from now, according to meteorologist Craig Solberg.

"We will see one more nice day in the Midwest for this Wednesday (i.e. largely dry conditions, mild temperatures) but things will be going downhill in the west tomorrow, in the east on Friday...and it may then be quite a while before we again get into any sort of 'nice' weather pattern for the region," Solberg said Wednesday morning.

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Mike's wandering around aimlessly in the countryside bugging guys trying to plant corn this morning, so I'm trying to act like I know what I'm talking about today. Bear with me! 

Anyway, here's the scoop on today's market start:

Early calls for the grains are corn up 6-8, wheat up 5-7 and soybeans up 8-10, according to private sources.

Corn's expected to lead the charge Wednesday after a mostly higher overnight trade, as traders continue to move prices amid continued anxiety about tight grain supplies, according to a Dow Jones Newswires report.

• See more: Corn seen rebounding Wednesday

Add to that some concerns about planting weather in the Midwest turning cooler and wetter over the next week and there's more room for upside, though it's far from unlimited at this point. Namely, the prospect of livestock producers cutting corn use, thereby trimming demand, remains the biggest potential detractor.