August 14

8/14 - Corn futures that started the year at $6.70 per bushel are currently $4.7450 (8/11). That’s probably all you need to know about this year’s corn crop. But if you followed the crop’s development this season, you might expect that prices would be higher. This year’s crop was short of moisture for some of its critical growth stages. In Friday’s WASDE, the USDA reduced 2023/24 corn yield from 177.5 to 175.1 bushels per acre - and cut its forecast for this year’s crop by 209M bushels. But apparently there was just enough rain, at just the right times, to keep most of the crop intact. According to the USDA, the crop is 15.1B bushels and still on track to be the 2nd largest on record. The USDA raised its projected 2023/24 price forecast from $4.80 to $4.90, but that’s still well below last year’s $6.60. Also, the reemergence of an El Niño weather pattern is likely to bring more rain to the Midwest corn belt in Aug/Sept.