USDA Plantings and Stocks Reset Grain Outlook as Soybeans, Wheat Rise, Cotton Slips

Overview

• USDA’s Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports, released Tuesday, showed corn at 95.338 million intended acres with March 1 stocks at 9.024 billion bushels, soybeans at 84.7 million acres with 2.105 billion bushels in stocks, all wheat at 43.775 million acres with about 1.3 billion bushels in stocks, and cotton at 9.64 million acres.
• Soyoilseeds drew the strongest bid after the report, with soybean futures up roughly 5 to 13.5 cents as intended acres came in 787,000 below the average trade guess even though stocks were larger than a year ago.
• Wheat futures gained across Chicago, Kansas City, and Minneapolis after all‑wheat acres were reported 905,000 below expectations and 1.553 million under last year, a shift that tightened the outlook ahead of harvest.
• Corn futures ended steady to modestly higher as acres topped trade ideas but March 1 stocks landed 89 million bushels under expectations, a mix that tempered bullish follow‑through given inventories remain well above last year.
• Cotton futures weakened after USDA pegged 2026 acreage at 9.64 million, about 409,000 above trade estimates, a surprise that signals more potential supply for growers to market into later this year.