|

3-21 End of Day: Grains Mixed: Wheat Gains on Drought Concerns, Corn and Soybeans Slip

All Prices as of 2:00 pm Central Time

Corn
MAY ’25 464.25 -4.75
JUL ’25 471.5 -4
DEC ’25 451 -2
Soybeans
MAY ’25 1009.75 -3.25
JUL ’25 1021.5 -3.75
NOV ’25 1007.75 -2.5
Chicago Wheat
MAY ’25 558.25 1
JUL ’25 574.5 1
JUL ’26 638.25 0
K.C. Wheat
MAY ’25 588.75 2.25
JUL ’25 603.5 2.5
JUL ’26 657.5 3
Mpls Wheat
MAY ’25 605 0.25
JUL ’25 620.75 0.25
SEP ’25 635.25 0.75
S&P 500
JUN ’25 5697.75 -15
Crude Oil
MAY ’25 68.28 0.21
Gold
JUN ’25 3052.4 -18.9

Grain Market Highlights

  • Corn: Corn closed lower, erasing yesterday’s gains as a stronger U.S. dollar and tariff concerns from Canada and Mexico pressured the market.
  • Soybeans: Soybeans closed lower amid weak export demand and pressure from Brazil’s record harvest.
  • Wheat: Wheat futures ended mostly higher as drought expansion across the U.S. provided support.
  • To see the updated monthly temperature and precipitation outlooks from the CPC as well as the 14-day precipitation anomaly for South America, scroll down to the other charts/weather section.

Note – For the best viewing experience, some Grain Market Insider content is best viewed with your phone held horizontally.

Corn

Action Plan: Corn

Calls

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Cash

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Puts

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

2024 Crop: 

  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Since last summer, seven official sales recommendations have been made at an average price of 495.50.  If you are behind, target 480 vs May as a first spot to begin catching up.
    • Grain Market Insider has not yet set an official price target for an eighth sale but remains satisfied with the sales recommendations made to date. The Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports, scheduled for release on March 31, are approaching quickly. Given the high volatility typically seen on report day, Grain Market Insider is likely to hold off on any new recommendations until after the report — unless market conditions shift significantly.

2025 Crop: 

  • Plan A: Exit all 510 December calls @ 43-5/8 cents. Exit half of the December 420 puts @ 43-3/4 cents.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Since last spring, six sales recommendations have been made for the 2025 crop at an average price of 460.75. If you are behind, target 462 vs December as a first spot to begin catching up.
    • Grain Market Insider feels confident about the overall strategy heading into the volatile March 31 reports and into spring/summer. There are the six sales recommendations on the books at an average price of 460.75. Additionally, 510 and 550 call options are in place to capture upside potential if the highs are not in. On the downside, 420 put options cover unsold bushels, providing protection against lower prices. This balanced strategy allows flexibility to adjust as the market moves in either direction.

2026 Crop: 

  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details: Grain Market Insider recently recommended selling the first portion of your 2026 corn crop. Early sales can be impactful in years when prices trend sideways or lower. For last year’s 2024 corn crop, the sales recommendations made in 2023 at 497.75 and 507.50 ended up outperforming anything offered after January 1, 2024, for bushels that had to be sold at harvest. While this won’t be the case every year, history shows that sideways or lower years tend to outnumber higher years. Consistently applying early sales strategies year after year can provide long-term benefits.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following corn recommendations:

Market Notes: Corn

  • Corn closed lower, erasing most of yesterday’s gains, as a stronger U.S. dollar and lingering tariff concerns from Canada and Mexico pressured the market. May 2025 futures dipped back below the 100-day moving average but managed to retain modest gains for the week.
  • Traders are closely awaiting the release of the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, scheduled for March 31. Expectations are for a large increase in U.S. corn acres compared to last year.
  • The BAGE held their Argentine production estimates unchanged at 49 mmt vs the USDA’s estimate of 50 mmt as harvest progress has nearly reached 14%.
  • Tariff tensions are set to escalate next week as the April 2 deadline nears and negotiations gain momentum. Analysts expect a swift resolution, given Canada and Mexico’s reliance on U.S. trade. Meanwhile, Northern Mexico’s persistent drought underscores the region’s continued need for U.S. corn imports.
  • Brazil is expected to receive between ¾ and 2 ½ inches of rain through next Thursday. While this rainfall will be beneficial for the development of other crops, it may delay ongoing harvest for both soybeans and the first corn crop. In contrast, Argentina is expected to experience a few more days of dry weather, allowing the harvest to continue without disruption.

Soybeans

Action Plan: Soybeans

Calls

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Cash

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Puts

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

2024 Crop:

  • Plan A: Next cash sale at 1107 vs May. Buy calls with a close over 1079.75 vs May.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Since last spring, three official sales recommendations have been made at an average price of 1089. If you’re behind, consider targeting 1056 vs May as a good starting point to begin catching up.
    • The official target for a fourth sale is 1107 vs May. Since soybeans tend to have later seasonal pricing opportunities than corn, the plan is to aim for an aggressive target for now.
    • A close above the February high resistance of 1079.75 would trigger a recommendation to re-own the three prior sales with August call options.

2025 Crop:

  • Plan A: Next cash sale at 1114 vs November. Exit all 1100 November call options at 88 cents.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • There has been one official sales rec on 2025 soybeans to date. If you’re behind, consider targeting 1040 vs November to catch up.
    • If the 1100 November calls can be exited for 88 cents, that should cover the cost of the 1180 calls, providing a net-neutral cost position that can continue to protect the upside on the previous sales recommendation.

2026 Crop:

  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Still not expecting the first targets for at least another couple months.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following soybean recommendations:

Market Notes: Soybeans

  • Soybeans ended the day lower on little fresh news apart from poor export demand and an ongoing record large Brazilian harvest. Bullish news could come next week if soybean acres are significantly reduced in the Planting Intentions report. Soybean meal ended the day higher while soybean oil was lower.
  • A grain exchange in Argentina has cut their estimate for soybean production in the country by 1 million tons as a result of drought conditions. Estimates are now at 48.6 mmt which is slightly lower than the USDA’s most recent estimate.
  • For the week, May soybeans lost 6-1/4 cents to $10.09-3/4, while November soybeans lost 10-1/4 cents at $10.07-3/4. May soybean meal was down $5.60 at $300.30 and May soybean oil gained 0.42 cents at 42.01.
  • Abiove has estimated the Brazilian soybean crop for 2025 0.5% lower at 170.9 mmt compared to 171.7 mmt the previous month, but this output would still be up 11% from last year. This estimate is near the USDA’s 169.0 mmt.

Wheat

Market Notes: Wheat

  • Wheat closed mostly higher, despite the firming U.S. dollar and a lower close for Paris milling wheat futures. Increased drought readings for much of U.S. Midwest and Plains states are helping to support the market.
  • The International Grains Council raised its 2025/26 global grain stockpile estimate to 578 mmt, up 1 mmt year-over-year. However, wheat stocks are expected to decline from 265 mmt to 259 mmt.
  • The extended forecast for April calls for widespread warm and dry conditions. This could affect the development of the U.S. winter wheat crop due to a lack of soil moisture. However, this should also mitigate concerns over frost or freeze damage.
  • The Ukrainian first deputy farm minister has said that their winter crops are in satisfactory condition. Furthermore, weather swings in February and so far in March were not enough to cause any significant crop damage.

Action Plan: Chicago Wheat

Calls

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Cash

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Puts

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

2024 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 701 vs May to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 701 hits.

2025 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 714 vs July ‘25 to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 714 hits.

2026 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 704 vs July ‘26 to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 704 hits.

Action Plan: KC Wheat

Calls

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Cash

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Puts

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

2024 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 717 vs May to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 717 hits.

2025 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 677 vs July ’25 to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 677 hits.

2026 Crop:

  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Still not expecting the first targets for another two to three months — likely around May or June.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following KC recommendations:

Action Plan: Mpls Wheat

Calls

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

Cash

2024

No New Action

2025

Active

Sell SEP ’25 Cash

2026

No New Action

Puts

2024

No New Action

2025

No New Action

2026

No New Action

2024 Crop:

  • Plan A: Target 625 vs May to make the next sale.
  • Plan B: No active targets. Monitoring various indicators for the development of sell signals that could suggest making a preemptive sale — before 625 hits.

2025 Crop:

  • CONTINUED OPPORTUNITY – Sell another portion of your 2025 HRS wheat crop following the recent hit of the 647.75 target. 
  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.

2026 Crop:

  • Plan A: No active targets.
  • Plan B: No active targets.
  • Details:
    • Still not expecting the first targets for another three to four months — likely around June or July.

To date, Grain Market Insider has issued the following Minneapolis wheat recommendations:

Other Charts / Weather

Courtesy of ag-wx.com