Good afternoon. Chicago wheat futures were higher Wednesday for the fourth day in a row, as funds continue to cover short positions. The extent to which the rally goes depends on how much of the roughly 96,000 short contracts the funds decide to buy back, with July futures today trading decidedly above the 100-day moving average. Newswires continue to be generally quiet, as the US producer is fully engaged in the 2024 seeding campaign where soils aren't too wet.

CK had an outside day lower Wednesday and closed at 4.37 3/4, down 5 1/4. CZ had an outside day lower also and closed at 4.72 3/4, down 2 cents. SK was a penny and a half lower at 11.66. SX closed at 11.74 1/2, up 1/2 cent. WK closed at 5.94 1/2, up 9 1/2 cents. Products were mixed, May soybean meal closed at 346.0, up 80 cents/ton, and May soybean oil closed at 44.66, down 65 points. Meal again made new highs for the third consecutive session. Livestock markets were lower, June live cattle closed at 175.25, down $1.90, May feeders closed at 244.10, down $1.95, and June hogs closed at 107.45, down 50 cents. Outside markets are mostly lower, crude oil futures are down 30-40 cents/bbl, the Dow Jones index is down 50 points, and the US$ index is up 10 points.

Spreads were weaker, corn spreads were down 1-3 cents, and soybean futures were a penny to a penny and a half weaker. CK/CN made new lows for the week and closed at -10 3/4, while SK/SN closed at -15 1/2. Old/new crop spreads were notably weaker in both corn and soybeans.

USDA this morning did not announce any new daily sales, but did make a correction to the announcement from last Friday, April 19th; the correction updates the sale of 121,500 mt's of soybeans originally reported to unknown destinations, to now show the sales were made to Mexico. 13,500 mt's was for 2023/24, while 108,000 mt's was for delivery during 2024/25. No changes were made to the amounts announced, only the destinations.

This morning's weekly ethanol report was again light for the second week in a row, which further reinforces our assumption that some plants have taken seasonal down time. Daily production for the week ended April 19th was seen at 0.954 mil bbls. Production was 3% below last week, and 1.3% below the same week last year. Stocks were seen at 25.733 mil bbls, which was down 1.3% from last week, but up 5.9% from last year. Corn grind was estimated at 95 mil bu, which like last week, was the second lowest total of the year. Cumulative grind has reached 3.401 bil bu's, compared to the USDA's marketing year forecast of 5.375 bil bu's.

US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack on Wednesday announced that starting Monday, the US government will require all dairy cattle moving across sate lines to be tested for bird flu. He also said all labs and vets in the country must report positive tests, and that the USDA would pay for increased testing. If an animal tests positive, it will be prohibited from moving for a 30 day period, and until it tests negative. These new requirements come just a day after the US FDA said it had found bird flu virus particles in some samples of pasteurized milk. Because the milk had been pasteurized, it was still deemed safe for consumption. As of today, the virus has been found in eight states and 33 separate dairy herds.

In non-war related news out of Russia, Russian Ag Minister Dmitry Patrushev met with officials from North Korea on Wednesday to discuss deepening ties between their ag sectors. Not a lot of details were given, but the Russian Minister was quoted as saying, "The Russian Federation and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have long-standing friendly relations. Currently, we note the intensification of contacts, including in most areas of agriculture." Due to prolonged U.N. sanctions over its weapons programs, as well as frequent natural disasters, North Koreas has long been one of the most food-impoverished countries in the world. Russia is the world's largest wheat exporter.

Stock index futures were mixed on Wednesday. This morning's durable goods report showed a 2.6% increase in March, after advancing at a revised 0.7% rate in February, while shipments were unchanged vs last month. Economists see tomorrow's quarterly GDP number coming in at 2.4% annualized rate for the first quarter, due to a resilient labor market that is driving consumer spending.

Forecasts continue to see a wetter pattern for the Midwest beginning Friday and going into the middle of next week. A pair of low pressure systems will make their way off the West coast and then hook North in the middle part of the Midwest, with the heaviest rainfall totals seen for MO/IA/NE. Strong storms and heavy winds will accompany this rainfall. Multiple long range models continue to see a pattern shift to warmer/dryer weather beyond the first week of May, which should allow for a normal completion of planting. Worth noting that the chatter surrounding increased corn acres due to early planting has subsided in recent weeks.

No change to South American weather again, as the heart of Brazil remains dry for the next 10 days. Temps will run above average as well, which looks to threaten late season safrinha corn development. Dry weather is welcome in Argentina to advance the soybean harvest, which is currently running behind average.