American Farm Bureau Federation Crops Economist Todd Davis notes the Prospective Plantings report from USDA provides an indication of what farmers intend to plant as of early March - and says the influence of still-dry soils, volatile commodity prices and weather uncertainty will play out and could change what farmers plant.
Based on the forecast for corn planting this year and a trend yield of 163.54-bushels per acre - the final U.S. corn crop could yield around 14.6-billion bushels.
Using USDA's February yield projection of 44.4-bushels per acre - Davis says the intended 77.1-million soybean acres would produce a record soybean crop of 3.38-billion bushels. If the early planting and yield projections are realized - Davis says corn and soybean stocks will increase - which would ultimately lead to lower feed costs for livestock and poultry farmers.
According to USDA's March 1 survey of grain - the nation's corn inventory is 5.4-billion bushels - down 10-percent from a year ago. Soybean stocks were measured at 999-million bushels - down 27-percent from a year prior.
