CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• The corn market came under pressure to close the week, driven by long liquidation and options expiration. Weakness in the soybean complex added spillover pressure. May corn lost 5 cents to 462 and July lost 4 ½ cents to 473 ½. For the week, May corn traded 3 ½ cents lower. Finishing lower for the second consecutive week.
• April options expired Friday, contributing to increased volatility as prices gravitated toward key strike levels with significant open interest. Heading into expiration, roughly 14,000 contracts were open at the 4.60 strike in both calls and puts.
• President Trump spoke at the “Celebration of Agriculture” event he hosted at the White House. Beyond other topics, President Trump continued to push for congressional action to establish year-round E15 to support domestic uses of corn.
• The USDA will release the Prospective Planting report on Tuesday, March 31. Analyst estimates are for a total of 94.4 million acres for the 2026-27 crop. This is down 4.4 million acres from last year. Last year on the March planting intentions report, the USDA forecasted corn acres at 95.3 million acres.
• In addition to acreage numbers, the USDA will be releasing the Quarterly Grain Stocks Report. Analysts’ expectations for the report to show corn stocks at 9.104 billion bushels, up 960 mb from last year. With the strong demand tone, the market will be looking closely at the usage for the quarter, especially projected feed usage.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• May soybeans were down 14-1/2 cents to 1159-1/4 while November was down 8-3/4 cents to 1144. May soybeans have been rangebound between the 20 and 40-day moving averages for the past 10 days. May soybean meal was down $6.80 to $315.30 while May soybean oil was down 0.61 cents to 67.41 cents.
• Soybeans ended the day lower following the White House’s celebration of Agriculture event and announcement for RVO numbers. The RVO numbers for biofuel blending were better than anticipated, but soybean oil sold off following the news likely in “buy the rumor, sell the fact” fashion. There was a flash sale of 105,000 mt of soybeans to unknown destinations for 25/26.
• Price movement in the soy complex was tied closely to the RVO announcement. Early leaks called for the 2026 renewable fuel volume requirements at 5.61 billion RIN’s while the actual number was much more friendly at 7.12 billion. Soybean oil was already overbought and fell slightly while soybean meal was likely lower in anticipation of more soybeans crushed for bean oil that could leave an excess of meal.
• For the week, May soybeans lost just 2 cents while November gained 3 cents. May soybean meal was down $12.70 and May soybean oil was up 1.90 cents. Next week, focus will shift to the prospective plantings and quarterly stocks report.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat was mixed to higher at the end of the session, with the HRW class leading the charge. While there is rain in the extended outlook, winter wheat regions are also expected to see temperatures 3-11 degrees Fahrenheit above normal over the next 15 days. With expanding drought in the southern plains, this continues to provide support for HRW wheat prices. In the May contract, Chicago was unchanged at 605, Kansas City gained 6 cents to 632-3/4, and MIAX was up 3-1/4 cents at 648-1/4.
• In their tender, Algeria is thought to have bought between 660,000 and 700,000 mt of wheat, reportedly paying $272/mt on a CNF basis. The wheat is likely to be sourced from the Black Sea region.
• According to the European Commission, EU soft wheat production in the 26/27 season will fall to an estimated 125.9 mmt. This compares with 134.2 mmt this season. Additionally, they forecasted 26/27 exports at 30.0 mmt, compared to an expected 28.0 mmt for the 25/26 season.
• India’s 2026 wheat crop is currently being harvested, and production is expected to reach a record figure of 120.21 mmt according to their government estimate. While still a record, this would fall below earlier projections, as unseasonal rains and hail damage affected the maturing crop.
• Morocco is expecting to have a bumper soft wheat harvest of 6 mmt, compared to just 2.4 mmt last season. Morocco is a major wheat importer, but because of the anticipation for a large harvest, they do not intend to increase imports, despite uncertainty with the conflict in the Middle East.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III milk futures were mixed among 2026 contracts. April futures fell 30 cents to $17.22 while August through December contracts were slightly higher.
• Spot cheese lost 2.25 cents to close at $1.57375/lb today. Whey was unchanged from the day prior at $0.69/lb.
• Class IV milk futures were mostly lower, driven by price decline in butter and powder. May futures fell 28 cents to $21.02.
• Spot butter fell 2 cents to close out the week at $1.8250/lb. Powder backed off heading into the weekend, down 1.50 cents to close at $1.9225/lb.

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Author

Brandon Doherty