Corn, soy, wheat futures ease in setback from surges

* U.S. crop insurance prices signal big corn, soy plantings

* January U.S. soy crushings exceed analysts' estimates

* StoneX sees larger Brazil soybean harvest

* Sovecon raises Russian wheat export forecast

CHICAGO, March 1 (Reuters) - U.S. grain and soybean futures eased on Monday in a setback from rallies driven by concerns about tight supplies.

The markets, however, will likely resist sharp setbacks, traders said, because of strong Chinese demand and the need for large global harvests. Speculative bullishness in corn remains high.

In a sign of robust demand, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said 197 million bushels of U.S. soybeans were crushed in January, above expectations for 195.6 million bushels.

There is "more range trade ahead, with limited downside," said Rich Feltes, head of market insights for broker RJ O'Brien.

Most actively traded Chicago Board of Trade corn futures fell 9-1/4 cents to $5.38-1/4 a bushel, after climbing last month to the highest price since June 2013.

Most-active soybeans dropped 13 cents to $13.91-1/4 a bushel. The contract last week surged to its highest price since June 2014. CBOT wheat ended down 10 cents at $6.50-1/4 per bushel.

Funds sold an estimated 22,500 corn contracts, 10,000 soybean contracts and 7,000 wheat contracts.

In a reflection of lofty futures prices, U.S. crop insurance policies that guarantee prices for the 2021 growing season are the highest in seven years for corn and in eight years for soybeans.

The high prices bolster expectations for record U.S. combined acreage of corn and soybeans, analysts said.

In Brazil, farmers are expected to harvest 133.5 million tonnes of soybeans for 2020/21, up from a previous estimate of 132.8 million, according to broker StoneX.

However, rain has slowed Brazil's harvest.

"As the new month starts, I think there is reflection in the market that U.S. soybean supplies remain tight and there are not a lot of inventories available in the U.S. to meet Chinese demand," said Matt Ammermann, StoneX commodity risk manager.

In other news, consultancy Sovecon raised its forecast for Russia's 2020/21 wheat exports by 1.2 million tonnes to 39.1 million tonnes. (Reporting by Tom Polansek in Chicago and Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Additional reporting by Naveen Thukral in Singapore; Editing by Susan Fenton, Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler)