By Kirk Maltais

--Corn for December delivery fell 2.5% to $5.10 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday as fund traders sold off corn as Gulf-area ports remain largely shut down due to Hurricane Ida.

--Soybeans for November delivery fell 1.2% to $12.77 a bushel.

--Wheat for December delivery fell 0.9% to $7.19 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

All About WASDE: Traders looked ahead to Friday's WASDE report as grain futures remained largely listless Tuesday. "It is difficult to say we have done much more than stabilized at current ranges as we await fresh news, not to mention the 2021 harvest," said Dan Hueber of the Hueber Report. Also weighing down grains today was strength in the US dollar, with the ICE index up 0.5%.

Inspection Slowdown: Export inspections for U.S. grain were down overall in this week's report from the USDA, due largely to reduced amounts of grains being inspected out of Gulf locations. In today's report, the USDA said corn inspections for the week ended September 2 totaled 275,799 metric tons, wheat inspections totaled 381,551 tons, and soybeans totaled 68,059 tons. For corn and soybeans, these totals are well down from the previous week. Damage from Ida has impeded shipping grains out of ports in the area.

INSIGHTS

Expectations Headed Higher: Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal this month are predicting that the USDA will raise its yield expectations for U.S. corn and soybean production in Friday's monthly WASDE report. Analysts forecast that the USDA will increase its yield targets to 175.5 bushels per acre for corn and 50.3 bushels per acre for soybeans. In addition, the USDA is expected to raise its targets for U.S. stockpiles in both the current and next marketing year, suggesting that production will be strong enough to stave off some amount of shrinking inventory -- with the exception of wheat, which analysts forecast will drop to an ending inventory of 619 million bushels in 2021/22.

Records Keep Comin': Prices for farmland on auction have found new highs, which is buoying an optimistic sentiment among farmers. Late last month, farmland in Grundy County, Iowa was sold at a price of $22,600 per acre - setting a new state record, according to Iowa Appraisal and Research Corp. The new high eclipses the previous record of $19,000 per acre set weeks prior. For farmers, the higher values for land is helping support optimism, with Purdue University/CME Group's monthly Ag Economy Barometer showing that farmers in August said that they expect farmland values to continue to rise.

Bulking Up: Agricultural co-op CHS Inc. says that it will expand its refining capacity at its soybean processing plant in Mankato, Minn., increasing soybean oil production there by 35%. CHS is investing $60 million into the project, due largely to higher demand for vegetable oil globally. "Trends in global consumption of refined oils such as soy, canola, and palm remain strong, especially in the renewable diesel sector, with projected continued tightening of stocks," said Tom Malecha, CHS vice president. "We're seeing tremendous opportunities to maximize our farmer-owners' investments in high-performing assets and infrastructure." The investment comes after CHS renovated and expanded its plant in Fairmont, Minn., which increased soybean oil refining capacity by 30%.

AHEAD:

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

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

--The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET Friday.

--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

09-07-21 1547ET