Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat in the US Plains were steady on Monday, with farmers and merchants both eyeing freezing temperatures and potential damage to the new HRW wheat crop. Freezing temperatures Monday morning and forecast for Monday night followed freezing temperatures over the weekend.
In Kansas, the top US wheat-growing state, temperatures ranged from about 20 and 22 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 7-minus 6 degrees Celsius) across the western third of the state early Monday morning, according to Mike Palmerino of DTN Meteorlogix.
Freezing temperatures of 22 degrees were also noted in Guymon, Oklahoma. Conditions were only slightly warmer, from 24 to 29 degrees Fahrenheit, in central Kansas and central Oklahoma, he said. To the south, into Texas, temperatures were notched at 24 to 26 degrees, Palmerino said. Oklahoma merchants said wheat was near the heading stage and could suffer significant damage due to the freeze. Merchants were also monitoring the flooding in the Red River Valley that could delay seeding of the spring wheat crop.
Kansas City Board of Trade May futures were expected to open 7 to 9 cents higher on Monday, supported by the freeze fears. Asian trade was higher after the KCBT May contract ended up 16 cents at $6.07-1/2 on Friday. In world wheat news, Indonesia will buy more wheat cargoes from the United States and Canada in the April-June quarter as a slowdown in supplies from Australia has caused delays of up to two months.