3 Big Things Today, April 1, 2025

1. Grains, Soybeans Higher in Overnight Trading

Grain and soybean futures were higher in overnight trading as investors digest yesterday’s plantings and stockpiles reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Farmers will plant 45.35 million acres with wheat this year, the agency said in its annual prospective plantings report yesterday. 

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a forecast of 46.48 million acres. Producers last year planted 46.08 million acres with the grain, USDA data shows.

Corn area is now projected at 95.33 million acres, up from 90.59 million a year earlier and just ahead of analyst expectations for 94.36 million acres. 

Soybean planting will fall to about 83.5 million acres, the agency said. That’s down from the previous year’s 87.05 million and below analyst forecasts for 83.76 million acres. 

Investors are also looking at the quarterly grain stocks report that showed corn inventories down year over year. 

Corn stocks on March 1 totaled 8.15 billion bushels, down 2% on an annual basis, USDA said. 

Soybean inventories were reported at 1.91 billion bushels, up 4% from the same date a year earlier, the government said. 

Wheat stockpiles in all positions at the beginning of March stood at 1.24 billion bushels, up 14% year over year. 

Corn futures rose 3¾¢ to $4.61 a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade.

Wheat futures for May delivery gained 3½¢ to $5.40½ a bushel, while Kansas City futures added 1½¢ to $5.58½ a bushel. 

Soybean futures for May delivery were up 3¢ to $10.17¾ a bushel. Soymeal fell 30¢ to $292.40 a short ton, and soy oil rose 0.39¢ to 45.28¢ a pound.

2. Farm Prices Received Surge as Livestock Jumps

Prices farmers received for their agricultural products in February surged year over year as the livestock production index jumped, according to data from the Ag Department.

Prices received for all agricultural products rose 22% from February 2024, the agency said. 

The livestock production index jumped 37% year over year, USDA said. The meat animal index rose 17%, hog prices rose $7.80 to $66 per hundredweight and beef cattle prices were up $25 to $203 per hundredweight. 

The dairy index jumped 15% annually, with milk prices up $3 to $23.60, the agency said. 

USDA’s poultry and egg index surged 77% from February 2024 as egg prices jumped $5.10 to $7.47 per dozen amid a bird flu outbreak. Broiler prices were unchanged at 72.7¢ a pound and turkey prices were down 3.7¢ to 54.¢ cents per pound. 

Prices received for crop production, meanwhile, fell 5%, the government said. 

Grain and oilseed prices received fell 4.5% year-over-year but were offset by feed grain, which rose by the same percentage. Food grain was down 11% from the same month a year earlier as rice and wheat both fell in February. 

USDA’s oilseed index plunged 13% year over year, USDA said in its report. 

3. Winter Storms Forecast for Northern States

Winter storm warnings and advisories have been issued for parts of the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, according to National Weather Service maps. 

As much as 11 inches of snow and a tenth of an inch of ice are expected to fall starting this evening in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota, the agency said in a report early this morning. 

Winds will gust as high as 40 mph. 

In northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, from 6–9 inches of snow are possible with winds gusting to 35 mph, NWS said. 

Red-flag warnings will take effect at 10 a.m. in the U.S. southern Plains where hard red winter wheat is growing. 

Winds will be sustained from 30–40 mph with gusts of 55 mph in the forecast, the agency said.