US harvest delays send soy processors scrambling for supplies
ADM•Persistent rains have delayed the US soybean harvest, prompting processors to offer premiums of up to $1 per bushel for prompt deliveries as some plants scale back crushing for lack of supplies. The USDA projects processors will crush a record 2.78 billion bushels this crop year.
1. Processors seek prompt supplies
Soybean processors in the western US Midwest are offering large premiums for immediate deliveries as rains delay the early harvest and old-crop supplies dwindle. Some plants have slowed crushing, while strong cash prices have benefited farmers able to deliver soybeans.
2. Premiums vary by delivery
Cargill bid $1 per bushel over November soybean futures for beans delivered to its Sioux City, Iowa, plant on Thursday or Friday, a flat price of $14.17½ per bushel. Its bid for Saturday delivery was 15 cents below futures. Bunge's Council Bluffs plant offered an 85-cent-per-bushel premium for deliveries through Saturday.
3. Harvest and feed pressures
Rain has left fields too muddy for harvesting equipment and slowed crop dry-down, with more showers forecast. Merchandisers said some plants have scaled back crushing and Cargill plants in Cedar Rapids, Iowa Falls and Sioux City did not post soymeal offers because of limited supplies. October soymeal futures reached a contract high on Thursday.
