U.S. corn, wheat and soybean growers will sell their 2015 crops for a higher average price than USDA projected a month ago, says ag economist Dan O’Brien of Kansas State University. In material prepared for a weekly radio program, O’Brien estimated slightly smaller corn plantings than USDA has projected, which means a slightly smaller crop and a smaller stockpile at the end of the marketing year. O’Brien pegs the season-average price at $3.95, compared to USDA’s $3.50 a bushel.
For soybeans, O’Brien expects plantings to be 2 million acres larger than USDA but he says yields will be lower, so the harvest will be only slightly larger than USDA projected. Carry-over stocks would be larger than USDA projects but he estimates an average soybean price of $9.60 a bushel, compared to USDA’s $9. O’Brien says stronger exports will boost wheat prices so that this year’s crop will sell for an average $5.75 a bushel, or 65 cents higher than USDA has projected.