Dry weather, freeze slash Brazil corn crop 10 percent
Brazil will harvest a smaller-than-expected 70 million tonnes of corn this marketing year, said USDA, lowering its forecast by 7.5 million tonnes in one month because of adverse weather. Brazil is the third-largest corn grower in the world, trailing the United States and China, and is a U.S. competitor for export sales.
Freeze damage may put a dent in U.S. wheat crop
"Concerns are mounting over freeze damage to winter wheat crops in the southern Plains," says the Associated Press, pointing in particular to temperatures as low as the single digits in southern Kansas 10 days ago.
Smallest Kansas wheat crop since 1996, tour says
Kansas, often the No 1 wheat state in the nation, will reap its smallest harvest since 1996 due to drought and freeze damage, scouts estimated at the end of the annual wheat tour. The crop was pegged at 260.7 mln bu with an avg yield of 33.2 bu/ac, said Bloomberg, compared to 319.2 mln bu last year with a statewide yield of 38.0 bu/ac. "Output...would be the lowest since 255.2 mln (bu) in 1996." Analysts had expected a crop of 299 mln bu.