Market Report: Lower Again

It was another difficult day for corn, closing down 3-5 cents. Last evening about 8PM, I checked corn futures thinking we would be firmer because planting progress was at the low end of trade expectations. Corn was down around 2 cents a bushel. This morning just after the open we were down more than 6 cents a bushel. The weather forecasts were thought to be favorable for planting as we warm up later this week. Maybe the most negative to prices were more concerns about decreased feed demand because of the bird flu. This morning it was announced that a flock of laying hens in Iowa was infected. This farm has 5 million hens!

Soybeans closed about 2 cents lower. Concerns about soybean meal demand with the bird flu was probably a major factor. It was a moral victory that beans closed in the upper end of the trading range. Pro Farmer reported that the funds sold an estimated 4,000 contracts today. I also read traders are talking about more bean acres in the southeastern  U.S. because of delayed corn planting.