USDA Forced to Abort Crop Report over Government Shutdown

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will not release the U.S. crop report and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report Friday due to the lapse in federal funding.

It’s unclear when the reports will be released, as a new date for the release has yet to be determined. "USDA will not issue a WASDE report this week due to the lapse in federal spending," said a USDA spokesperson.

The U.S. federal government has been in partial shutdown since Oct. 1, which has stalled the release of all USDA reports. The monthly crop and WASDE reports are always highly anticipated because of their influence on commodity prices. The U.S. is the world’s largest exporter of corn, soybeans and wheat.