RFA Ethanol Podcast

USDA Forecasts More Corn and Soybeans

Cindy Zimmerman

il-harvest-14The harvest may be running a little slow right now, but USDA expects a bit more corn and beans in the bins than they did a month ago, adding to the already record forecasts.

Corn production is now forecast at 14.5 billion bushels, up almost one percent from the previous forecast and four percent more than last year. Corn yields are expected to average 174.2 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushels from the September forecast and 15.4 bushels above the 2013 average. Soybean production is forecast at a record 3.93 billion bushels, up slightly from September and 17 percent more than last year with yields are expected to average a record high 47.1 bushels per acre, up 0.5 bushel from last month and up 3.1 bushels from last year.

Also in today’s report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, cotton production was lowered two percent from last month’s forecast but is still up 26 percent from last year at 16.3 million 480-pound bales. And orange production is up three percent from last season despite continued concerns about citrus greening disease in Florida.

Peter Georgantones of Roy E. Abbott Futures reviewed the latest numbers on the Minneapolis Grain Exchange crop call today and one of his comments is that he thinks the soybean number will ultimately be higher. “We’re just hearing about phenomenal yields around the belt,” he said. MGEX October crop conference call

Corn, Grains, Soybean, USDA