US Plains HRW Wheat-Basis bids mostly flat, crop weather improves

CHICAGO, March 4 (Reuters) - Basis bids for hard red winter wheat were largely steady in the southern U.S. Plains on Wednesday, dealers said, as crop weather improved.

• Scattered showers and thunderstorms developed across parts of Kansas and Oklahoma, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a daily weather report. Some areas have struggled with dryness.

• The USDA rated 58% of winter wheat in Kansas as being in good or excellent condition as of March 1, down from 61% as of February 1 and up from 54% a year earlier.

• Oklahoma's crop was rated 19% good-to-excellent, down from 23% as of February 1.

• K.C. May hard red winter wheat futures KWK26 closed 5-3/4 cents lower at $5.72-1/2 per bushel. On Monday, the contract set a July high of $5.95-1/4 per bushel.

• On Thursday, Statistics Canada is expected to estimate that Canadian farmers will plant 26.4 million acres of wheat in 2026, down from 26.9 million acres in 2025, according to a Reuters poll of analysts.

Basis values are quoted against futures in cts/bu:

NOTES:

H = March, K = May, N = July, U = September

Z = December; UNQ = Unquoted bids

0 = Sp Option price; NC = No comparison

= No. 1 12% hard winter wheat, rail bids

= Ordinary protein, rail bids

LINKS:

K.C. HRW wheat protein scales KCBT/SCA

U.S. weekly wheat crop progress US/WHE

U.S. forward basis WHEAT/BASIS

U.S. Midwest cash grain PM GRA/PM

U.S. FOB Gulf Grain GRA/F