Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) grains futures closed much lower on Tuesday with soybean posting more than three percent losses in response to better crop ratings.

The most active corn contract for December delivery dropped 8.25 cents, or 2.14 percent, to 3.765 dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery edged down 13.25 cents, or 2.79 percent, to 4.6125 dollars per bushel. November soybeans fell 35.5 cents, or 3.52 percent, to 9.7175 dollars per bushel.

CBOT brokers estimated that funds sold 12,000 contracts of soybeans, 17,000 contracts of corn, and 3,600 contracts of wheat.

The massive sell-offs were prompted by a crop progress report released on Monday.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that soybeans saw a two-point improvement overall with 59 percent good to excellent, which led to the sharp decline of soybeans prices.

Although the same report showed 61 percent of corn was good to excellent, down one percentage point from last week, the sell-off mode in the market also dragged its prices down.

Macroeconomic factors also contributed to the CBOT selling, including a sharp fall in crude oil, said analysts.

Wheat futures settled lower as U.S. farmers are preparing for spring wheat harvest.