USDA Trims National, State Crop Estimates

BY DANIEL GRANT, FARMWEEKNOW.COM

USDA’s crop production and world ag supply/demand reports didn’t generate an explosive market reaction compared to previous reports, but there were adjustments, nonetheless, as USDA continues to try to get a handle on this year’s late-planted crops.

USDA currently pegs U.S. crop production at 13.79 billion bushels of corn (down 102 million bushels from last month’s estimate) and 3.63 billion bushels of beans (down 47 million bushels from last month) based on Sept. 1 conditions.

If realized, output would fall 4% for corn and 20% for soybeans this season compared to last year.

National yield estimates slipped to 168.2 bushels per acre for corn (down 1.3 bushels from last month and 8.2 bushels from last year) and 47.9 bushels for soybeans (down .6 of a bushel from last month and 3.6 bushels from a year ago).

“There’s nothing really earth shattering as far as the estimates compared to expectations,” Joe Camp, AgriVisor manager, told the RFD Radio Network. “It was yield that adjusted production slightly lower.”

USDA, however, did not make any adjustments to its harvested acres estimates. Those remain unchanged at 82 million acres of corn and 75.9 million acres of beans.