CHICAGO, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Spot basis bids for soybeans were mostly steady to higher at elevators and processing plants around the U.S. Midwest on Friday on slow farmer sales and lower futures prices, merchants said.

* The spot soybean basis bid rose by 5 cents a bushel at a processing plant in Lafayette, Indiana, and by 8 cents at barge-loading river elevators in Seneca, Illinois.

* Spot corn basis bids were mostly unchanged to firmer at interior and river elevators on lower futures prices and amid a slowdown in farmer sales following an early week flurry of sales as prices hit 16-month highs. Bids at ethanol plants leveled after edging higher earlier in the week at some locations, while basis values at other processors were mostly flat to weaker.

* A corn processing plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, dropped its spot basis bid for a third straight day on Friday, shedding 3 cents a bushel for an 8-cent drop for the week. A large processor in Decatur, Illinois, held its basis bid steady after raising it by 3 cents at midweek.

* Chicago Board of Trade May corn futures CK25 were down 6-1/4 cents near midday on Friday at $5.06-1/2 a bushel. CBOT May soybeans SK25 were down 7 cents at $10.56 a bushel.

Basis values are quoted against CBOT futures in cts/bu:

NOTE: 0 = Option price, UNC = Unchanged, UNQ = Unquoted

NC = Not comparable, DP = Delayed price, N/A = Not available,

F = January, H = March, K = May, N = July Q = August, U = September, X = November, Z = December

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LINKS: 0#USCSHGRN-PM

For U.S. forward basis spreadsheets, please click:

CORN/BASIS, SOYA/BASIS, WHEAT/BASIS, MILO/BASIS

- CBOT corn report COR/

- CBOT soybean report SOY/C

- CBOT wheat report WHE/C

- U.S. grain barge freight values BG/US

- U.S. Midwest cash grain PM GRA/PM

- U.S. CIF/FOB Gulf Grain GRA/F

(Reporting by Karl Plume; editing by David Evans)

((karl.plume@thomsonreuters.com; +1 313 484 5285))