Corn and Cotton Prices Improving, Wheat Declining

WASHINGTON, DC – The outlook for domestic wheat this month is for smaller supplies, reduced domestic use, and lower stocks. Wheat supplies are decreased by 42 million bushels, based on updated production estimates for the States resurveyed by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The season-average farm price is reduced by 10¢ per bushel to $4.60. This month’s USDA corn outlook is for lower production, reduced use, and smaller ending stocks. Corn production is forecast at 13.661 billion bushels, down 118 million from last month on a 1.4-bushel reduction in yield to 167.0 bushels per acre. The season-average corn price received by producers is raised 5¢ to $3.85 per bushel. The soybean outlook is for slightly lower production, reduced crush, and higher ending stocks. Soybean production is forecast at 3.55 billion bushels, down less than 1 million on fractionally lower yields and unchanged harvested area. The season-average soybean price for is forecast at $9.00 per bushel, unchanged from last month. Finally, USDA’s cotton estimates include lower production and ending stocks due to a smaller crop in the Southwest. While the U.S. production forecast is reduced 4 percent, to 20.8 million bales, domestic mill use and exports are unchanged. U.S. ending stocks are now 900,000 bales lower at 6.1 million but, at 31 percent, are still forecast at their highest share of use since 2008/09. The marketing-year average price received by upland producers is forecast at 61 cents per pound, 5 percent (3 cents) above the October forecast, but 13 percent lower than the final 2018/19 price of 70.3 cents.