Corn and soybean returns sink as market prices fall
For the first time since 2015, Midwestern farmers face negative returns from corn and soybeans grown on rented land, three agricultural economists said Tuesday at the farmdoc daily blog. They estimated a loss of $99 an acre for corn and $13 a bushel on soybeans, based on rising production costs and a downturn in market prices.
USDA corn estimates are accurate overall, says review
The government often is the best source of information about U.S. corn plantings, yields per acre, production and likely season-average prices, said three researchers who analyzed 80 studies on the accuracy and market impact of USDA reports involving corn. "USDA helps uncover these market conditions for all market participants, thereby providing a level playing field for all, even though the process is sometimes bumpy," they concluded.
Record soybean crop within reach, despite planting delays
Farmers might still harvest the largest U.S. soybean crop ever, even if a rainy spring kept them from planting as much of the oilseed as they had intended. Meanwhile, growers planted slightly more corn than expected, despite high prices and tight supplies for fertilizer and pesticides, reported the Agriculture Department on Thursday.
Drought scorches U.S. corn, soy, and wheat crops
U.S. farmers will reap two of their largest-ever corn and soybean crops, the first step to assuring an abundant food supply, the government said on Thursday, despite drought damage in the northern Plains and upper Midwest. The wheat crop, meanwhile, will be the smallest in 19 years.
Record corn and soybean crops possible as farmers chase high prices
Responding to strong exports and expectations of a U.S. economic recovery, farmers will plant 92 million acres of corn and 90 million acres of soybeans this spring, pointing to a record soybean crop and possibly the largest corn harvest ever, said the USDA on Thursday. Chief economist Seth Meyer also said farm exports would be a record $157 billion this year, including the largest-ever exports to China of $31.5 billion.