Wet Harvest Less Of An Issue Than Previously Thought

Estimates for U.S. wheat, corn and soybean crops may put to rest fears that the wet harvest season in many parts of the country would cut into production, the Associated Press reports.

Late-season rains that delayed harvests, raised concerns about whether farmers’ record crops might die in the fields. But recently released USDA crop estimates show little change over the past month, and analysts now expect little, if any, changes in prices for either farmers or consumers.

Estimated U.S. spring wheat production is down less than 1% from the Sept. 30 estimate and durum wheat production is down 1%. Total production of all types of wheat is virtually unchanged, at 2.22 billion bushels.

U.S. production of both oats and barley is almost unchanged from September, and the new figures for corn and soybeans vary only slightly from the Oct. 9 report.

The slight decreases in wheat production are due largely to a drop in harvested acres of both spring wheat and durum in North Dakota, which leads the nation in production of the grains used for bread products and pasta, respectively. But North Dakota farmers still produced their third-largest spring wheat crop in history, at 290 million bushels.

In the USDA’s regular monthly report, it estimated the U.S. corn crop at 12.9 billion bushels, down 1% from the October estimate but 7% higher than last year and the second-largest crop on record. The department pegged the soybean crop at a record 3.32 billion bushels, up 2% from the October forecast and up 12% over the year.