July corn opened 9 1/4 cents lower on the day session at 605 1/2 and established an early range of 595 to 608. Corn opened lower than the early calls had indicated and eroded to sharply lower levels into the early session. Both old and new crop corn contracts were sharply lower. Traders cite improved weather as the major influence this morning. Drier weather is expected across much of the western Corn Belt this week which should greatly accelerate planting there. The east will see scattered rains, but this should allow substantial progress according to traders. Some traders are looking for planting progress this week to approach 30% or even higher during the course of this week which would allow the planting rate to nearly catch up with the normal pace by Sunday. While planting progress is advancing rapidly, cool weather has slowed emergence to just 11% of the overall crop compared to a 5-year average of 33%. This could still bring yield reductions according to analysts, but the excellent soil moisture levels will be a boost to the crop once consistently warmer temperatures arrive.