GRAINS-Soybeans and corn ease with crop tour in focus

PARIS/BEIJING, Aug 20 (Reuters) - Chicago soybean and corn futures fell further on Wednesday as traders monitored results from a U.S. Midwest field tour that has initially confirmed strong yield prospects.

Wheat edged up, halting a two-session decline as traders took a more cautious view on diplomatic moves to end Russia's war with Ukraine.

Second-day results from the Pro Farmer crop tour on Tuesday showed Indiana corn yield potential at a 22-year high, though soybean pod counts were slightly below 2024 levels. Nebraska recorded its highest soybean pod count in at least 22 years and best corn yield outlook in four years.

The annual tour, which continues until Thursday, is widely followed by the grain market and particularly scrutinised this year after the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued a much bigger than expected projection of the 2025 corn crop.

"Corn and soybean values are under pressure amid good crop conditions," Andrey Sizov, head of consultancy Sovecon, said. "The Pro Farmer tour overall confirms a good crop outlook for corn and beans."

The soybean market has nonetheless found support from the USDA's lower than anticipated projection of the U.S. crop, as well as dry weather in some areas, with soybeans more exposed to late-summer weather as they develop later than corn.

The most active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Sv1 was down 0.2% at $10.31-3/4 per bushel by 1153 GMT, easing for a third straight session.

CBOT corn Cv1 was down 0.4% at $4.01-1/2 a bushel to trade near contract lows struck last week.

Low prices have sustained brisk U.S. exports, though the absence of Chinese demand amid a wider trade battle between Washington and Beijing has tempered demand sentiment.

On Tuesday, U.S. soybean farmers urged President Donald Trump in a letter to reach a trade deal with China that secures significant soybean purchase agreements.

CBOT wheat Wv1 added 0.4% to $5.23-1/4 a bushel.

Wheat prices remain near a five-year low, pressured by ample global supply amid rising expectations for Russia's 2025 wheat crop.

Hopes of progress toward ending the war in Ukraine, following meetings hosted by U.S. President Donald Trump, have also weighed on prices, though the path forward in negotiations remained uncertain.

"It does feel that the initial optimism is slowly fading, which could explain today's bounce in CBOT wheat," Sizov said.