GRAINS-Corn rises for second session on outlook for lower US planting

By Naveen Thukral

SINGAPORE, April 1 (Reuters) - Chicago corn futures gained more ground on Wednesday, supported by robust demand and expectations that U.S. farmers will plant fewer acres this spring, tightening supply prospects.

Wheat rose on worries about dryness hurting the U.S. winter crop.

"A big chunk of Hard Red Winter wheat crop in the U.S. is facing drought," said Tobin Gorey, founder of commodities consultancy Cornucopia in Australia. "For corn, we have support from U.S. planting outlook."

The most-active corn contract on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Cv1 added 0.3% to $4.59 a bushel, as of 0309 GMT, and soybeans Sv1 added 0.3% to $11.74-1/4 a bushel.

Wheat Wv1 gained 0.6% at $6.20 a bushel.

U.S. farmers plan to plant less corn and more soybeans in 2026 than last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said, as the Iran war drives up fertilizer and fuel prices in the latest blow to the struggling agricultural sector.

The agency published its first survey-based U.S. crop acreage estimate of the year in a prospective plantings report, along with quarterly grain stocks data.

Farmers intend to plant 95.338 million acres of corn this year, down from 98.788 million acres in 2025, and 84.7 million acres of soybeans, up from 81.215 million acres last year, USDA said.

The survey collected data on farmers' planting decisions from the first couple of weeks of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Corn and wheat require more expensive fertilizer, making them less attractive to growers than soybeans as the war disrupts global shipments.

Wheat futures are being supported by persistent dryness in the U.S. Plains, which is threatening to curb winter crop yields.

While traders have been closely monitoring dry conditions across the U.S. Plains in regard to potential impacts on the wheat crop, there is growing concern that it may also affect the start of the corn and soybean growing seasons, analysts said.

The USDA also reported all wheat planted acreage this year is estimated at 43.8 million acres, down 3% from a year earlier, which would be the smallest wheat acreage planted since the agency's records began in 1919.