April 10

4/10 - Following multiple years of drought, the transition from a La Nina to an El Nino weather pattern is expected to bring welcome precipitation to the Midwest corn belt this spring/summer. In its Prospective Plantings report on March 31, the USDA released its first official, survey-based estimates. U.S. farmers said they intend to plant 92.0M acres of corn in 2023, up 4% from last year. All wheat acres for 2023 are estimated at 49.9M, up 9% from 2022. Winter wheat planted area is forecast up 13%; spring wheat acres down 2%; durum acres up 9%. A bigger harvest this year is needed to replenish stocks, with corn and wheat supplies down 5% and 8%, respectively, from a year ago. The news has been mostly bearish for prices. Corn futures, which averaged $6.71 per bushel for Jan/Feb, closed at $6.43 on Friday (4/7). Wheat futures, which averaged $7.48 for Jan/Feb, are currently $6.75.