USDA Shows Slight Monthly decline in Kansas Wheat Ratings

Headlines

• KCBT wheat breaks through Feb 20th highs on poor US crop ratings and expectations are for continued dry weather.
• Significant rainfall has led to reported flooding along the river systems.
• Exporters sell 130,000 metric tons of corn for delivery to unknown destinations during the 2017/2018 marketing year. -USDA

Wheat Conditions Deteriorate Further

• Kansas HRW wheat rated 12 percent good-to-excellent down 2 percent from Jan. Wheat rated poor-to-very poor throughout Kansas increased 5 points to 49.
• Oklahoma HRW wheat rated 4 percent good-to-excellent was unchanged from Jan. Wheat rated poor-to-very poor in the state declined by 1 point to 78 percent.
• Drought conditions are expected to worsen this week across Kansas.
• Temperatures should drop sharply mid-week in the central and Volga regions of Russia. Good snow cover should protect the crop from any damage.

More U.S. Rain in Delta and Midwest

• Significant rain over the last month in the eastern Midwest and Delta regions has saturated the soil and caused flooding along the Illinois, Ohio, Tennessee and Lower Mississippi.
• Last week the CME declared a Force Majeure along the Illinois river as flooding halted barge loading activity.
• More precipitation is expected through Thursday which will increase flood conditions on the Tennessee and lower Mississippi.
• Drier conditions from Friday through the weekend will help, but cooler temperatures next week which will slow drying.

Argentina

• Central production areas will remain dry through the weekend.
• Latest weather model suggests increased rain during second weekend of March.
• Significant rainfall is expected in the far northern part of Argentina for the remainder of the week.
• Driest areas are expected to remain dry over the next week.
• Temperatures are expected to cool next week.

Brazil

• Frequent showers will benefit crop development but slow fieldwork.

Export Inspections

• Wheat export inspections disappointed while corn inspections beat analyst expectations.
• Soybean export inspections met expectations

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