Chicago corn hits 18-month high as crop tour heightens yield concerns
DBA•Corn, soybeans and wheat extend gains
Chicago corn futures rose to an 18-month peak on Thursday as an industry field tour highlighted mixed yield prospects across the U.S. Midwest.
Soybeans also rose as results from the Pro Farmer crop tour in the U.S. Midwest fuelled doubts about soy yields at a time of strong demand for the oilseed.
Wheat extended gains, as a squeeze on Russian and Ukrainian exports fuelled expectations that importers will have to turn to pricier alternative origins.
The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was last 7-1/2 cents higher to $5.05-1/2 per bushel as of 10:50 a.m. CT (1550 GMT), breaching the psychological $5 threshold and hitting its highest point since February 2025. CBOT soybeans added 5 cents to $12.42-1/4 a bushel.
"The crop tour is showing that the corn crop is not as large as expected and yield potential is eroding," said Dan Basse, president of AgResource.
Crop tour and Black Sea disruptions weigh on supply outlook
Traders are closely watching reports from the Pro Farmer field tour after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its corn and soybean yield forecasts last week.
Corn yield potential and soybean pod counts across western Iowa are down from last year but remain near or above three-year averages, Pro Farmer scouts said on Wednesday.
On the third day of a four-day, seven-state event, Pro Farmer scouts projected the average corn yield for Illinois, the No. 2 U.S. corn state, at below the 2025 crop tour average and the tour's three-year average.
CBOT wheat was 5-3/4 cents higher to $7.03 per bushel.
Global wheat importers are bracing for tighter supplies as tit-for-tat attacks by Russia and Ukraine on ports and vessels in recent weeks have shuttered grain terminals and forced shippers to delay or cancel loadings for dozens of cargoes during the peak export season.
