Corn, wheat, and cattle prices moved higher on April 28, while soybeans ended lower. Wheat futures saw significant gains, with hard red winter and spring wheat reaching new contract highs. Randy Martinson of Martinson Ag said the wheat market is reacting to risk factors such as weather issues, global production challenges, and geopolitical tensions.
“I mean, most of it is weather because we’re looking at the dry conditions, rain being pulled out of the forecast. That really helped to push the market today. The fact that we continue to see the Strait of Hormuz closed and the idea that we could get some exports or some U.S. wheat moved into that region in the Middle East, continuing to help add some support,” Martinson said.
He also noted tight fertilizer supplies are influencing decisions worldwide: “Lots of countries talking about cutting back on production or on acres because of the high cost of fertilizer and the tight supplies are hard to get. So I think all of that’s coming in to help push the wheat market.” Wheat conditions have deteriorated slightly with an increase in poor ratings for hard red winter varieties, which has further supported prices.
Spring wheat planting remains behind schedule compared to historical averages due to wet fields and cool temperatures in key regions like North Dakota. “This week doesn’t look like we’re going to see a lot of activity taking place as a lot of areas are just a little too wet and we’re not getting heat to dry out soil,” Martinson said.
Corn followed wheat higher but faces its own challenges from limited fertilizer availability and unfavorable planting weather in parts of the Corn Belt. “I mean, you know, the geopolitical…the fertilizer not getting to the U.S., you know…corn acres will see a little suffer for that,” he said.
Soybeans declined due partly to expectations for increased acreage this season along with rapid planting progress so far this year. There is also uncertainty about an upcoming potential summit between China and U.S., which could affect soybean demand: “I do think we have an ability to get above it (the trading range), but it’s going take China and U.S. having that summit meeting.”
Live cattle futures reached record highs again due largely to strong cash bids amid ongoing supply constraints: “Cash continues to be king…supplies continue to be tight,” Martinson added.
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