USDA on Thursday lowered its estimate of the already sagging farmgate price of corn while maintaining relatively strong forecasts for corn and soybean production.
USDA’'s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report reduced the projected average corn price by 10 cents to $4.10 a bushel for the 2024-25 marketing year, down from $4.65 for the 2023-24 marketing year and $6.54 for 2022-23.
USDA is forecasting farmers will harvest 15.2 billion bushels of corn this fall, an increase of 39 million from the August estimate. The estimated yield was raised a half bushel to 183.6 bushels per acre. Total corn usage was left unchanged at 15 billion bushels, while estimated ending stocks were trimmed 16 million bushels to 2.1 billion.
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USDA slightly lowered its estimate of soybean production to 4.59 billion bushels, but that would still be a record. USDA didn’t change its estimated yield of 53.2 bushels per acre. The estimated season average farmgate price was left unchanged at $10.80 per bushel, down from $12.50 for 2023-24.
USDA lowered its estimate of the cotton harvest to 14.5 million bales, down 600,000 from the August estimate, largely because of lower projected yields in the Southwest. The estimated average price was left unchanged at 66 cents a pound, down from 76 cents last year.
