US wheat futures ended mixed on Tuesday, with the most-active Chicago Board of Trade soft red winter wheat contracts and MGEX spring wheat finishing in negative territory on a technical setback and declines in the corn market.

K.C. hard red winter wheat contracts were firm, supported by worsening crop conditions in key production areas of the US Plains.

The US Agriculture Department on Monday afternoon said the winter wheat crop was rated 57% good to excellent as of April 19, down five percentage points from a week earlier. Analysts had been expecting good-to-excellent ratings of 61%, according to a Reuters poll.