COARSE GRAINS: U.S. feed grain supplies for 2010/11 are projected down reflecting lower corn

production. U.S. corn production is estimated 93 million bushels lower as a 1.5-bushel-per-acre

reduction in the national average yield outweighs a 183,000-acre increase in harvested area. A 5-

million-bushel increase in projected U.S. corn imports slightly offsets the reduction in output. Corn feed and residual use is projected 100 million bushels lower based on September-November

disappearance as indicated by the December 1 stocks. Corn used for ethanol is raised 100 million

bushels offsetting the reduction in expected feed and residual use. Record December ethanol

production, as indicated by weekly Energy Information Administration data, boosts corn use to

date.

Ending corn stocks for 2010/11 are projected 87 million bushels lower at 745 million. This is down

963 million bushels from last year. The stocks-to-use ratio is projected at 5.5 percent, the lowest

since 1995/96 when it dropped to 5.0 percent. The 2010/11 marketing-year average farm price

projection is raised 10 cents on both ends of the range to $4.90 to $5.70 per bushel as cash and

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