By Kirk Maltais


-Corn for May delivery fell 1.4% to $4.36 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade on Monday, amid speculation that the USDA had underestimated U.S. corn planting.

-Soybeans for May delivery fell 0.5% to $11.85 1/2 a bushel.

-Wheat for May delivery fell 0.4% to $5.58 a bushel.


HIGHLIGHTS


Lacking Faith: Grain traders started the month of April with a revision of their exposure to CBOT grains futures, Karl Setzer of Consus Ag Consulting said. "Trade is not putting much faith in the acreage numbers from last week, mainly on corn where the drop in acreage seems rather large given current market economics," Setzer said. Limited responses to the survey has traders questioning the accuracy of the data, he added, and improved weather seen in the early portion of this month is expected to support early planting activity.

New Beginning: Grains spent the day lower ahead of the first Crop Progress report from the USDA, due out at 4 p.m. ET. "U.S. farmers getting seed in the ground raises the importance of U.S. weather and its impact on yield," AgResource said in a note. The firm speculates that quality ratings for U.S. winter wheat will be well up from the start of last year -- anywhere from 57%-61% good-to-excellent condition, up from 28% last year. Better crop ratings are signs of higher crop production.

Eased Shipments: Export inspections of U.S. soybeans fell 47% from the previous week, according to USDA data. In its latest Grain Exports Inspection report on Monday, the USDA forecast that soybean inspections totaled 414,484 metric tons, down from 785,116 tons last week. It's also lower than the 503,900 tons recorded for this time last year. Corn and wheat inspections are slightly higher for the week, with corn inspections up to 1.43 million tons and wheat up to 498,989 tons. Corn shipments remain ahead of this time last year, while soybeans and wheat are down from the previous week.


INSIGHT


Alternative Crops: If the USDA is to be believed, U.S. farmers may be reluctant to plant as much corn as they did last year, instead opting for soybeans or other alternative crops heading into the spring planting season. In its Prospective Planting report last week, the Department of Agriculture estimated that U.S. farmers would plant 90 million acres of corn this spring, a surprise to analysts who had predicted that the USDA would peg corn at 94.64 million acres. Farmers are optimistic about the prospects for a profitable soybean year, said Ed Lammers, who farms 1,500 acres outside of Hartington, Neb. Lammers, said that he is keeping 10%-15% of his projected corn acreage open to be changed to soybeans or another crop such as alfalfa.

Competitive Front: The sentiment that China's appetite for soybean exports is being filled by Brazil continued to pressure CBOT soybean futures. "Reports indicate that China has been a very active buyer of Brazil soybeans this season," said Jack Scoville of Price Futures Group. "Ideas that South American production is taking demand from the U.S. have pressured futures lower."


AHEAD


-The EIA will release its weekly ethanol production and stocks report at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

-The USDA will release its weekly export sales report at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

-The CFTC will release its weekly Commitment of Traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.


Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-01-24 1511ET