For the third month in a row, the USDA said the record-setting U.S. corn and soybean crops are bigger than expected. At 15.2 billion bushels, the corn crop is roughly a billion bushels larger than the 2014 record and the soybean crop, now pegged at 4.36 billion bushels, is 10-percent larger than the previous mark, also set in 2014.
Along with record output, this year’s crops are setting records for yield per acre. The harvest far exceeds domestic and export demand for the crops in a world flush with grain. As a result, U.S. corn and soybean stockpiles are getting bigger and bigger. The corn “carryover” would equal more than an eight-week supply. The soybean stockpile would be large enough for a six-week supply.
The USDA’s forecasts were larger than traders expected, so futures prices sank on the news. Corn futures for December delivery fell 3.7 percent and January soybeans dropped 1.9 percent. “The USDA hit the corn and soybean markets with a dose of reality this morning,” said Country Future’s Darrell Holaday in an Agrimoney story.