US wheat futures were down 1 percent at midday on Wednesday as forecasts for beneficial rain and snow in the southern Plains improved crop prospects that have been dimmed by prolonged dry weather in the wheat belt. May corn was off 2-3/4 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $6.84 a bushel and May soybeans were down 6-3/4 cents at $13.58-3/4 a bushel.
Kansas City Board of Trade hard red winter wheat futures led the market declines. Hard red winter is the largest US class of wheat and is the type most widely grown in the US Plains. At 12:06 pm CDT (1706 GMT), Kansas City wheat was off 12 cents, or 1.4 percent, at $8.33 per bushel. Chicago May wheat was off 8 cents, or 1.1 percent, at $7.14-1/4 after falling early as low as $7.06.