“Market conditions can change quickly,” said FAPRI in updating a forecast of crop prices released only a month ago. The corn and soybean harvests “will be considerably larger than estimated previously, resulting in lower projected prices for many crops.” FAPRI said its updated estimated could help growers in deciding which farm-subsidy option to select for the five-year life of the 2014 farm law. A signup period is expected this winter.
FAPRI projected a corn price of $3.50 a bushel for this year’s crop, down 10 percent from its previous forecast; an average soybean price of $9.92 a bushel, down 4 percent; and a wheat price of $5.91 a bushel, down 6 percent. It would be the lowest corn price in eight years, lowest soybean price in five years and lowest wheat price in four years. In 2012, the three crops – the most widely grown crops in the country – set record-high season-average prices.
When commodity prices recover to FAPRI’s earlier estimates in 2017/18, they will notably lower than the recent years but still above their levels when the agricultural boom began in 2006.