CORN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Strength in the wheat market and export demand supported corn futures on Tuesday. The corn market still struggled to hold early session gains and faded to mixed trade at the close. May corn futures gained 2 ¾ cents to 443, and July gained 1 ½ cents to 452 ½. The remaining deferred contracts closed the session with small losses.
• USDA announced two flash export sales of corn on Tuesday morning. Unknown destination bought 120,000 MT (4.7 mb) of corn for the 2025-26 marketing year. Mexico added a sale of 316,000 MT (12.4 mb) spilt over the next three marketing years. Of this total, 65,000 MT (2.6 mb) is for 2025/2026, 139,000 MT (5.5 mb) is for 2026/2027, and 112,000 MT (4.4 mb) is for 2027/2028.
• The Brazilian Ag agency, CONAB, released their April crop estimates on Tuesday morning. CONAB raised the forecast for the second crop Brazil corn higher by 1.3 MMT to 109.12 MMT. Corn exports remained unchanged at 46.5 MMT, up nearly 5 MMT from the 2024/25 total.
• Argentina is looking to harvest a record corn crop this season, and exports are off to a strong start. March Argentina corn exports were record large, and April has already reached record export levels by mid-April. Argentina has exported nearly 12 MMT of corn combined between March and April.
• Corn planting for the 2026-27 crop is off to a good start. As of April 12, 5% of the corn crop was planted, slightly below expectation, but slightly ahead of the 5-year pace. The majority of the progress is in the southern and southeastern states.

SOYBEAN HIGHLIGHTS:

• Soybeans ended Tuesday’s session lower across the entire soy complex. Volatility continues in the market as traders remain uncertain about the potential for Chinese purchases ahead of the upcoming Beijing summit. May soybeans are down 5-3/4 cents at 11.56-1/2, while July is down 6-3/4 cents at 11.70-3/4.
• Concerns persist surrounding disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, as ongoing tensions raise uncertainty about upcoming U.S.–China trade discussions in Beijing later in May. Producers had been hopeful that China would increase purchases of old-crop U.S. soybeans, but rising geopolitical risk has clouded that outlook. China relies heavily on crude oil imports from the region—particularly Iran—keeping tensions elevated and adding further uncertainty to global trade flows.
• Soybean planting is off to a record-fast start, with 6% completed nationally compared to just 2% at this time last year and the five-year average. Southern states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee are already 30–39% planted. Progress is also underway in the Midwest, with Illinois at 7% and Missouri at 8%.
• U.S. soybean inspections have reached 1.158 billion bushels, down 25% from last year. Meanwhile, soybean arrivals to China totaled 16.6 million metric tons from January through March, more than 3% below year-ago levels, largely due to delays in Brazilian shipments.

WHEAT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Wheat showed a divergence from crude oil today; all three classes closed with double-digit gains in the face of oil retreating several dollars per barrel. It is likely that wheat is drawing support from declining crop ratings, and little drought relief is expected for the HRW crop for the next 10 days. In the May contract, Chicago gained 9-3/4 cents to 592, Kansas City was up 19-1/2 cents at 622-3/4, and MIAX climbed 13-1/2 cents to 638.
• In yesterday’s crop progress report, the USDA indicated that US winter wheat conditions as of April 12 declined 1% from the week prior, to 34% good to excellent. Additionally, 11% of the crop was headed, which is above both last year’s 8% figure and the five-year average of 7%. Finally, spring wheat was reported to be 6% planted, which is in line with last year and 1% below the five-year average.
• In an updated projection from Argus, Ukraine’s 26/27 wheat production was revised lower, from 23.9 mmt to 23.5 mmt. A smaller planted area is cited as the reason for the decrease; total sowing is expected to decline 0.1 million hectares to 5.1 million hectares.
• India is anticipating a record 120 mmt wheat crop. However, with the growing likelihood of an El Niño weather pattern, India could see a below-normal monsoon season this year. This adds to pressure caused by increased input costs as a result of the Iran war – ultimately, these factors could weigh on their yields.

DAIRY HIGHLIGHTS:

• Class III futures were able to trade higher today mostly supported by the Class IV market. June futures improved 12 cents to $18.01.
• Spot cheese fell slightly to $1.5750/lb, down 0.375 cents. Whey was unchanged from the day prior at $0.71/lb.
• Class IV futures were able to erase yesterday’s losses on strength from both powder and butter. June futures climbed 47 cents to close at $21.40.
• Spot powder once again made a new all-time high at $2.14/lb after gaining 0.75 cents. Butter jumped 4.50 cents to $1.79/lb.

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Author

Amanda Brill