U.S. Department of Agriculture
The western half of the country continues to see little moisture, and after a year of record government payments to agriculture, farm groups fear financial assistance this year will be tough to get passed in Washington.
May corn prices were up 17.25¢ and May soybean prices were up 0.5¢, for the week ending April 9. May wheat prices were up 28¢.
A week after USDA released its bombshell Prospective Plantings report, USDA’s April WASDE also sparked some market momentum in corn, but seemed to disappoint for soybeans.
USDA will alter how it reports soybean oil use by biofuels producers beginning with its monthly World Agriculture Supply & Demand Estimates (WASDE) report in May, a USDA spokesperson told Reuters.
Tom Vilsack was sworn in as USDA Secretary for the second time at the end of February. Since then, he has pushed forward advances on several key issues.
The second round of Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) restarted April 5. Farmers have 60 days to either apply or make modifications to their existing CFAP 2 applications.
USDA chief economist Seth Meyer says leading into the report, USDA expected higher prices to incentive farmers to plant more acres this year, but the first survey-based report told a different story.
USDA’s Prospective Plantings report released Wednesday showed farmers intend to plant more acres overall, but fewer than what the trade expected. Here’s a breakdown of which states are seeing a shift in 2021 acres.
The March 31 Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports are known for a surprise or two, as well as causing some price volatility.
USDA reports have the chance of throwing out some surprises. So, what may some of those surprises be when UDSA releases its Prospective Plantings report next week? U.S. Farm Report analysts weigh in.