3 Big Things Today, April 17, 2025

1. Wheat Futures Higher in Overnight Trading

Wheat futures were higher in overnight trading amid unfavorable weather in several growing areas globally. 

Extremely dry weather is expected in the U.S. southern Plains through the rest of the week. 

Red flag warnings, an indicator of extremely dry weather, have been issued for parts of Kansas and the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles where hard red winter wheat is growing. 

Little precipitation has fallen in the southern Plains in the past month, leaving fields of recently emerged winter wheat without water. 

About 47% of the U.S. winter crop was in good or excellent condition at the start of the week, down from 48% a week earlier and 55% during the same week last year, the Department of Agriculture said in a report. 

Eight percent of the crop was headed, up from 5% the week prior and on par with the prior five-year average. 

In the Black Sea region, limited rainfall over the weekend will allow moisture levels for wheat to decline, said Don Keeney, an agricultural meteorologist with Maxar. 

Precipitation in parts of north-central Europe will give crops a boost, though more rain is needed to offset recent dry weather, he said. 

Wheat futures for May delivery rose 2¾¢ to $5.63¾ a bushel overnight on the Chicago Board of Trade, while Kansas City futures added 5¾¢ to $5.78 a bushel. 

Corn futures fell ¾¢ to $4.91 a bushel.

Soybean futures for May delivery rose 1½¢ to $10.51¾ a bushel. Soymeal gained $1 to $305.20 a short ton, and soy oil dropped 0.01¢ to 47.99¢ a pound.

2. Egg Placements Increase Narrowly, USDA Says

Egg placements into incubators in the seven days that ended on April 12 rose narrowly year over year, according to data from the Ag Department. 

Hatcheries placed 250.2 million eggs in incubators, up slightly from the same week last year and above the 249.8 million set a week earlier, the agency said. 

Average hatchability was about 79%. 

Alabama had the highest number of broiler-type eggs set at 35.3 million, followed by Georgia at 34.4 million, USDA said. Arkansas was a distant third at 26.2 million set. 

About 192 million broiler-type chicks were placed into meat production in the seven days through April 12, up from 191.4 million the previous week. 

Since the start of the year, placements have totaled 2.87 billion, up 1% from the same timeframe a year earlier, the government said. 

Georgia led in placements at 26.5 million, followed by Alabama at 24.1 million and Arkansas at 20.9 million, USDA said in its report. 

3. Dry Weather Expected in the Southern Plains

Red flag warnings have been issued for a large chunk of land spanning from eastern Arizona north and east into Texas, Oklahoma, and half of Kansas, according to the National Weather Service. 

Winds today in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles will be sustained from 25–40 mph and gust up to 55 mph, the agency said. Relative humidity will fall as low as 4%. 

In central Kansas, winds will gust up to 45 mph and humidity will fall to around 10%. 

“Any fires that develop will have the potential to spready rapidly,” NWS said. 

Frost advisories are in effect for parts of southern Ohio this morning as temperatures overnight fell into the mid-30s Fahrenheit, the agency said. 

Thunderstorms are expected to move into the area late tomorrow with some potentially turning severe, NWS said. Damaging winds will be the main threat associated with the storms.