CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• The corn market remained tied to movements in wheat and crude oil, both of which faced selling pressure during the session, contributing to weakness in corn futures. May futures slipped 1 ½ cents to 452 ¼, and July lost 2 ¼ cents to 463 ¼. May futures traded around the 450 area during session, a line of technical and psychological support.
• The USDA released the March WASDE report during the session. There were no surprises on the report as the USDA left the US number unchanged from the February report. US corn carry out remains at 2.127 BB, most analysts were leaning a small increase in carryout.
• The USDA made slight adjustments in South America corn production on today’s WASDE report. Due to impact of hot, dry weather, USDA lowered Argentina production by 1 MMT to 52 MMT, still 2 MMT over last year. That reduction was offset by a 1 MMT increase in Brazil production to 132 MMT, down 4 MMT from last year.
• The concern with the most recent price rally has been potential impact of demand for US corn. With the large supply, demand is needed to work through that supply. High price could impact usage for feed, exports and ethanol.
• The volatility in the crude oil market will have an influence over the corn market in the near-term. Crude oil prices have been moving quickly from headline to headline, influence the corn market at the same time.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended the session with modest gains following choppy, two-sided trade after yesterday’s energy market sell-off and a mostly unchanged March Supply and Demand report from the USDA. Soybeans and soybean meal posted gains, while soybean oil finished slightly lower. May soybeans gained 7 cents to close at 12.03 ¼. May soybean meal increased $1.60 to $315.10, while May soybean oil fell 0.22 cents to close at 65.88.
• Today’s WASDE report for March projections showed U.S. ending stocks for 2025/26 at 350 million bushels unchanged from the February projection of 350. World ending stocks for 2025/26 were at 125.3 million tons compared to 125.5 million tons in the February report. Planted acres remained unchanged at 81.2 million acres with an unchanged yield estimate of 53 bpa.
• On a global scale, today’s WASDE report projected Brazil’s 2025/26 soybean production at 180 million metric tons, compared to trade estimates of 179.4 million metric tons and unchanged from the February WASDE projection of 180 million metric tons. Argentina’s 2025/26 soybean production was projected at 48 million metric tons, slightly below the trade estimate of 48.11 million metric tons.
• U.S. and China trade representatives are scheduled to meet this coming weekend in Paris ahead of President Trump’s planned visit later this month. Traders are hopeful that soybean purchases will be among the key topics discussed during the meetings.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• The wheat market closed lower as it followed energy prices yet again, with crude oil was sharply lower today. Additionally, traders did not receive any fresh friendly news on the USDA supply and demand report – the data turned out to be very neutral. With that said, the wheat complex is likely to remain in a state of heightened volatility, sensitive to headlines coming out of the Middle East. In the May contract, Chicago lost 12-1/4 cents to 591, Kansas City slipped 11 cents to 608-3/4, and MIAX dropped 11 cent to 635.
• On today’s WASDE report, the USDA kept US 25/26 wheat carryout unchanged from last month at 931 mb despite expectations for a small reduction. Meanwhile, global 25/26 ending stocks declined by 0.5 mmt to 277.0 mmt. The US wheat export estimate was also held steady at 900 mb.
• In an update from the USDA on select states, as of March 8, winter wheat conditions fell 2% in Kansas to 56% good to excellent, while they rose 5% in Oklahoma to 24% GTE. In Texas, the crop was rated only 16% GTE, unchanged from the last estimate.
• According to the Indian Agriculture Ministry, their nation will produce a 120.2 mmt wheat crop in 2026. For reference, the USDA forecast sits at 117.95 mmt.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures were down hard today with the second month contract closing limit down at $16.36.
• Cheddar blocks fell 8 cents while barrels were unchanged to drop the spot cheese price 4 cents to $1.56/lb. Whey was unchanged.
• Class IV futures were either unchanged or various degrees of lower. The April contract fell a nickel to $19.70.
• Spot butter was down a substantial 12.25 cents to move to $1.8950/lb. Powder settled 2.75 cents higher at $1.7075/lb.

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Author

Brandon Doherty