Farms.com Home  › News

USDA - Rise in corn and cotton planting, drop in soybeans

Corn, cotton up, soybeans down; grain stocks high

By Farms.com

The US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) June Planted Acreage and Grain Stocks Report has bearish implications for commodity markets. The report revealed larger-than-anticipated plantings of corn and cotton, raising concerns about potential oversupply.

Analysts like Betty Resnick, an economist with the American Farm Bureau Federation, highlighted significant increases in corn and cotton acreage compared to both the March Prospective Planting Report and trade expectations. Soybean plantings, however, fell short of expectations.

Grain stockpiles for corn, soybeans, and wheat also exceeded forecasts, with all three crops showing a year-over-year increase of over 20%. While recent flooding in the Upper Midwest is expected to impact crop yields, the report predates these events.

Experts anticipate a lower percentage of corn and soybeans being harvested due to the flooding. The full extent of the damage in Minnesota, Iowa, and South Dakota remains unclear.

The USDA's weekly crop progress report will provide updates on current conditions. However, the next major report, the WASDE report, is scheduled for July 12th. This report may offer further insights into potential adjustments due to weather events.


Trending Video

Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

Video: Alberta Honey: A Day at Molenkamp Honey Farms

When was the last time you read the label on your honey?

We spent a day at Molenkamp Honey Farms with Michael Molenkamp, who has been keeping bees for 17 seasons and runs three to four thousand hives. In mid-September, he was finishing treatments and getting his bees ready for winter, and he walked us through how Alberta honey gets made.

Alberta has just 150 commercial beekeepers running 300,000 colonies, and together they produce 40% of Canada’s honey. Long summer days and golden canola fields give Alberta honey a light flavour that’s hard to match anywhere else.

Molenkamp calls Alberta beekeepers some of the most resilient farmers he knows. There’s plenty of Alberta honey to go around, but a lot on our shelves isn’t from here, so his ask is simple. Give the label a second look and choose honey made by Alberta beekeepers, or buy straight from a beekeeper near you.