Spot basis bids for hard red winter wheat were steady in the southern US Plains on Tuesday, and farmer selling was quiet following scattered rains in the region, merchandisers said. The Texas winter wheat crop was 20 percent harvested by Sunday, ahead of the five-year average of 7 percent, the US Department of Agriculture said in a state crop report released on Monday.
The Oklahoma harvest was 1 percent complete, the USDA said in its weekly report for that state, compared with the five-year average of 4 percent. An Oklahoma merchandiser said combines were rolling near Altus, in southwest Oklahoma. But scattered rains were slowing field work, he added.
In top producer Kansas, where harvest was still a few weeks away, 47 percent of the winter wheat crop was rated good to excellent, up from 44 percent a week earlier, the USDA said. Nonetheless, concerns about yield-robbing crop diseases persist in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas following weeks of excessive moisture.