Yesterday, USDA reported that both U.S. corn and soybean crops are progressing well and continue ahead of their 5-year average in terms of development. The condition of both crops remains strong with good potential to produce record setting yields.
Corn has the potential to yield 500 bushels per acre. But according to the USDA, the average corn yield lands short at 158. With an estimated 27% global population growth by 2050, the increasing demand will not be met.
If current crop progress and conditions hold, many industry observers are forecasting production of corn and soybeans will at least match last year's record harvest.
While market prices of corn and soybeans are lower at present than they have been in the past few years, they still produce the best return on a per acre basis than almost any of the other commodity crops, though rice and peanuts have been looking pretty good for the past year or two.
Farmers planted 84.8 million acres of soybeans, which was nearly 11 percent more than last year's 76.5 million acres. Among the states that planted record amounts of the crop were Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
This past week has been catch-up week for U.S. corn and soybean growers as decent weather throughout the Corn Belt and beyond allowed many farmers to finally get their crops planted.
Last week, Deere & Co. reported its second-quarter net sales and revenues were down by 9% to $9.9 billion and net sales and revenue, and net income fell to $981. Overall, worldwide equipment sales fell by 10% to $9.2 billion.
The results from an annual survey of U.S. no-till farmers reveals that despite a downturn in grain prices and some challenging springtime weather, 2013 produced the highest crop yields in several years.
It was a big week for corn plantings. According to data released today by USDA, as of May 11, a total of 59% of corn acreage has been planted, which surpassed the 5-year average of 58% for this date. It also more than doubled the acreage planted just a week earlier, which stood at 29%. Last year on May 11, only 26% of U.S. corn acreage was in the ground.
In this episode of On the Record, brought to you by Associated Equipment Distributors, we look at President Trump's tariff reduction on ag equipment, the latest dealer sales forecasts, and how high input costs are keeping farmer sentiment down.
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