U.S. Soybean Crop Behind Schedule

Delayed plantings and cool summer weather have postponed U.S. soybean crop development about two to three weeks behind normal, according to USAgNet. In particular, fields in the second largest producer state Illinois, and the fourth largest Indiana, are well behind regular maturity. Missouri is also lagging as temperatures have cooled again, after what was the coolest July on record in a century.

Illinois, Indiana and Missouri produce 25% of the American soy crop, now projected by the USDA, to be a bin-busting record of 3.2 billion bushels. But nerves are raw since U.S. soy stockpile at the end of this month will hit a 32-year low as China continues voracious buying of U.S. soybeans, up 70% from its year-ago pace.

Chicago Board of Trade will show soybean prices to be extremely sensitive to changing weather outlooks through early October, analysts and traders said. USDA reported recently that soybean pod-setting nationally was running 7% behind the five-year average pace, with Indiana, Missouri and Illinois ranging from 14% to 22% behind, with Illinois the biggest laggard.