Declining Crop Conditions Lead to Cut in Production Estimates

Due to the rapid decline in crop conditions in the last month – USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board lowered the projected corn yield to a national average of 146-bushels per acre Wednesday – a 12-percent decline. According to Outlook Board officials – that’s the largest yield decline in the July report in recent memory. That puts estimated total production at 12.97-billion bushels in the latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The report also dropped projected ending stocks for the 2012-13 crop to 1.18-billion – down by a bit more than 700-million bushels. Soybean yield estimates are also down. The 40.5-bushel per acre projection is down 3.4-bushels an acre from June estimates. Total production is now pegged at 3-billion bushels – a decline of 155-million bushels. Ending stocks were lowered 10-million bushels to 130-million bushels. The July WASDE also brought winter wheat production down one-percent to a forecast of 1.67-billion bushels on an average yield of 47.7-bushels per acre. The total production projection is still 12-percent higher than last year’s crop.