By Kirk Maltais

--Wheat for December delivery rose 1.9% to $5.84 1/4 a bushel, on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday.

--Soybeans for November delivery rose 0.1% to $10.21 1/2 a bushel.

--Corn for December delivery fell 0.1% to $3.79 1/2 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Dust Bowl: Wheat futures led row crops higher Monday, "on the prospect of another two weeks of below-normal rainfall for the winter wheat areas for European Russia," said AgResource, adding, "Southwest Russia could see a few spits of rain, but totals will be well below normal and the market is accordingly adding weather/supply premium." Ongoing speculation that Russia may institute a new quota for wheat exports has been a recent factor pushing U.S. wheat futures higher in the past week.

Harvest Moon: Anticipation of a strong crop progress report dragged CBOT soybean futures lower Monday. "This should be a great week for harvest and we would expect to see some or maybe a lot of those beans sold right off the combine since there is no carry in the market, there is not much incentive to store," says Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodity Brokerage. Clarity should come this afternoon at 4pm ET when the USDA releases its crop progress report. Soybean futures are down 0.1%.

INSIGHTS

Soya OBoya!: Managed money firms added to their sizable long position in CBOT soybean futures over the course of the week ending Sept. 29, according to the CFTC's latest commitment of traders report released late Friday. Managed money funds are holding a net long position of roughly 224,900 contracts, up from the previous week by roughly 13,000 contracts. Higher interest in soybean futures comes from a hunger for U.S. exports by Chinese buyers, although that interest appears to have tailed off for now. On Monday, the USDA confirmed no new flash sales of soybeans to China, instead confirming that 160,020 metric tons of U.S. corn were sold to Mexico.

More Aid: Even if Covid-19 subsides in the next few months, further government support will be needed to keep the U.S. farm economy afloat heading into next year's planting season, said Dr. Bart Fischer, Co-Director of the Agricultural & Food Policy Center at Texas A&M University. Speaking virtually at The Wall Street Journal's Global Food Forum Monday, Dr. Fischer said that government payments must continue because, "If the payments were to simply drop off, I don't think that's something any of us want to see," adding that current prices don't support U.S. farms surviving on their own, even if they've risen in recent trading. "We're looking at prices largely in break-even range," Dr. Fischer said.

Diversifying Sources: A chief focus for food companies in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic has been making sure that multiple sources for raw materials are available, said Hanneke Faber, head of Unilever's foods and refreshment division. Speaking virtually Monday at The Wall Street Journal's Global Food Forum, Faber said that Unilever found itself in a position where there was only one provider for key ingredients--forcing Unilever to scramble to secure alternative sources. "That's been a little bit of a wake-up call," she said. Overall though, supply chains for food have been "remarkable" in weathering the storm of sudden upticks of consumer demand in the pandemic, said Steve Cahillane, CEO of Kellogg's Co.

AHEAD:

--The EIA releases its weekly update on ethanol production and inventories at 10:30 a.m. ET Wednesday.

--The USDA will release its latest weekly export sales numbers at 8:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

--The USDA will release its monthly WASDE report at noon ET Friday.

--The CFTC releases its weekly commitment of traders report at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

10-05-20 1611ET