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Prices updated as of 6:55 a.m. CDT.

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Kevin Goodman, an Iowa farmer and former college baseball pitcher, had a final wish: to be buried “on the mound.” His path there unfolded against a backdrop of disagreement, hard feelings and family fracture. Goodman’s family shared lessons on mental health, mitigating farm disputes and getting help, with hopes of preventing others’ pain.

Corn lower overnight with crude oil

May corn futures fell 0.25 cent to $4.6525 per bushel late in overnight trading after earlier rising to a two-week high at $4.7350. Futures fell 1.75 cents last week to halt a three-week win streak. December futures fell 0.5 cent to $4.9025 after dropping 3.75 cents Friday.

Corn traded in an unusually wide range overnight as the market followed sharp swings in crude oil but still held within the range of the past two weeks. May futures came within 2.25 cents of a 10-month high at $4.76 posted March 9 before fading. That March 9 high will remain a key upside objective for bulls this week, but it’s likely the market will settle back into a sideways pattern ahead of the March 31 USDA Prospective Plantings report. Downside levels to watch include the 10-day simple moving average at $4.6125 and the overnight low at $4.58

Barchart’s front-month national average cash corn price rose over 4 cents Friday to just under $4.2275, down 0.75 cent for the week. Friday’s average was 42.75 cents below May futures, narrowing from 43.75 cents a week earlier.

Corn futures erased initial gains overnight as the market followed a selloff in crude oil prices, which followed reports President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran have held productive talks over the last two days and he was halting any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

May WTI crude futures plunged over $8, or 8%, to $90.04 late in overnight trading but are still up over 34% since the end of February.

Grain traders this week will continue to monitor the war with Iran while marking time ahead of USDA’s March 31 Prospective Plantings report, which is widely expected to show a sharp decline in expected corn acres from a nine-decade high at 98.8 million acres in 2025. Any decline may be magnified because of war-related disruptions to global fertilizer supplies.

Last week, S&P Global Energy said it forecast corn plantings at 95.2 million acres, up 200,000 acres from a previous estimate and soybean acres at 85 million acres. Prices for most crops have risen since the end of February amid “heightened geopolitical risks” in the Middle East, S&P said in a report. “While recent price movements have become slightly more favorable for additional corn plantings, higher fuel and fertilizer costs remain a concern,” the firm said.

AgMarket.Net today said it forecasts corn plantings at 94.4 million acres and soybean plantings at 86.1 million acres, citing stronger prices for the latter crop.

Soybean prices “are at levels we haven't had a chance to hedge at in a long time,” AgMarket.Met co-founder and CEO Matt Bennett said in a statement. “The combination of stronger soybean prices, the natural corn-to-soybean rotation and what it costs to put corn out this year - all of those things point to a larger shift in soybean acres.”

USDA’s weekly inspections report today likely will continue to underscore robust corn export demand.

A week ago, USDA reported corn inspected for export during the week ended March 12 at 1.659 million metric tons (65.3 million bushels), up 6.8% from the previous week but down 2% from the same week a year earlier. For 2025-26 to date, corn shipments now total 1.688 billion bushels, up 39% from the same period in 2024-25 and 51% of USDA’s full-year export projection, a record 3.3 billion bushels.

Historic wildfires have torched over 700,000 acres in Nebraska, killed one person, displaced cattle herds and left ranchers scrambling for feed. Burned pastures may come back eventually with rain, but meantime, “ranchers are still going to have to find feed for their cows until they can graze their pastures,” one livestock extension specialist said. Oklahoma was also recently hit by major wildfires, dimming prospects for herd expansion even with cattle numbers near 75-year lows.

Soybeans monitoring Iran war ahead of acres

May soybeans fell 2.75 cents to $11.64 overnight after tumbling 7.25 cents Friday to $11.6125, ending a three-day upswing. Futures plunged 64 cents for the week to halt a six-week win streak. November soybeans rose 4 cents to $11.45.

Soybeans stabilized following a week-ago selloff and appear to be settling into a sideways pattern ahead of USDA’s reports March 31. Near-term technicals remain neutral-bearish with May futures trading under the 10- and 20-day SMAs ($11.8325 and $11.7825, respectively) the past week. Downside levels to watch include last week’s low at $11.4525 and the $11.40 area.

Barchart’s front-month national average cash soybean price fell 7 cents Friday to just over $10.8650, down almost 64 cents for the week. Friday’s average was about 74.75 cents below May futures, little changed from 75 cents a week earlier.

Soybean futures traded both sides of unchanged overnight as traders monitored crude oil and the Iran war while looking ahead to USDA’s acreage report March 31.

The market also retains support from expectations for greater biofuels demand. Futures rallied briefly last week following reports that Trump invited farmers and biofuel producers to the White House for a “Celebration of Agriculture” event Friday, boosting hopes the president will announce ramped-up biofuels blending requirements, known as Renewable Volume Obligations.

A week ago, soybean inspections for the week ended March 12 were reported at 966,082 MT (35.5 million bushels), up 8.9% from the previous week and up 45% from the same week a year earlier. However, for 2025-26 to date, shipments totaled 1.031 billion bushels, down 28% from the same period in 2024-25 and a seven-year low.

Wheat pressured by slower exports

May SRW wheat fell 2.5 cents to $5.9275 after sinking 12.75 cents Friday to $5.9525, a loss of 18.5 cents for the week. Futures are down 49 cents from a nine-month intraday high of $6.4175 posted March 9.

Wheat technicals eroded late last week after March SRW futures closed under the 10-day SMA ($5.9825) for the second time in the past two weeks. Key near-term support levels include the 20-day SMA ($5.9075), which May futures pushed under overnight. A break under that level could lead to a test of last week’s low at $5.86 and the March low at $5.6450.

May HRW wheat fell 2 cents to $6.0425 after tumbling 14.5 cents Friday. Futures fell 16.5 cents last week. May spring wheat rose 1.25 cents to $6.2925.

Winter wheat futures fell overnight as the market followed crude oil. Plains weather remains a background concern that will increasingly come into focus next week. Conditions in key wheat states such as Oklahoma remain dry, and last weekend’s cold snap will be followed by a heat wave this weekend.

S&P projected total U.S. wheat plantings for 2026 at 44.05 million acres, 40,000 acres above its January projection but down by about 1.3 million acres from 2025. The firm estimated winter wheat plantings at 32.4 million acres, unchanged from January but down from 33.153 million a year earlier. S&P said its forecasts were based on the results of a monthly survey of farmers and agribusinesses.

Based on an Allendale survey, U.S. producers may plant 44.88 million acres to all varieties of wheat this season, which would mark a decline of 423,000 acres from last year. Of that total, spring wheat plantings were estimated at 9.68 million acres. In February, USDA pegged all U.S. wheat plantings at 45 million acres, down 300,000 acres from last year and the lowest since 2020.

Today’s USDA export inspections report may further underscore the eroding trend in U.S. wheat shipments as the 2025-26 crop year winds down.

A week ago, inspections totaled 343,022 MT (12.6 million bushels), down 31% from both the previous week and the same week in 2025. For 2025-26 to date, wheat shipments now total 715.3 million bushels, up 19% from the same period in 2024-25 and 79% of USDA’s full-year target of 900 million bushels.

Wetter pattern ahead for Midwest, Plains

The Midwest and Plains will be mostly dry this week, with only trace amounts of precipitation expected for the eastern Corn Belt and Northern Plains today through Thursday, based on NOAA’s 72-hour outlook.

The latest National Weather Service 6-to-10-day and 8-to-14 day outooks, which cover March 28-April 5, continue to call for above-normal temperatures across the central U.S. through early April. However, both outlooks have turned wetter, with above-normal precipitation expected for the Midwest and Plains during that period.

Stock index futures rally on easing war worries

Stock index futures rallied late overnight following reports President Donald Trump said the U.S. and Iran have held productive talks over the last two days and he was halting any strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

Futures based on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 indexes both surged over 1.6% while Dow futures jumped over 2%. The U.S. dollar index was little changed as the market extended a pullback from a 10-month high posted a week ago.