Weather conditions started to improve and gave farmers a chance to pick up the pace on harvest. Both corn and bean basis eased lower this week, falling by 2 and 1 cent a bushel, respectively.

In the corn market, Gulf basis bids were off 7 cents for the week, which put pressure on upstream river terminals. Ethanol plants as well moved lower for the week, collectively averaging a 5-cent drop in corn basis for the week. Some areas of the Western Corn Belt and Plains managed to hold steady and move slightly higher in some areas. Nebraska and South Dakota had only moderate harvest progress over the last week -- up 3% vs the U.S. average of 5%.

For soybeans, crushing plants started to ease off on market prices as their basis was 3 cents lower for the week. However, Gulf bids and upstream river terminals took the biggest hit, losing 6 to 8 cents for the week.

Weather conditions look reasonably favorable in the near-term, which should find more grain hitting the cash market. Look for basis levels to ease further in the coming two weeks with the bulk of the harvest still in front of us.

Weather conditions started to improve and gave farmers a chance to pick up the pace on harvest. Both corn and bean basis eased lower this week, falling by 2 and 1 cent a bushel, respectively.