U.S. Corn, Soybean Harvests A Record.

Nov 14, 2016

The U.S. Agriculture Department raised its already record forecast for U.S. corn and soybean harvests on Wednesday, with gains keyed by increased yield estimates in major production states such as Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio.

The bumper harvest will leave a larger-than-expected stockpile of both commodities even with increased usage forecasts, the government said in its monthly supply and demand and production reports.

Timely planting and near-perfect growing conditions for much of the summer weighed on corn and soybean prices throughout the growing season and into harvest as reports from the fields confirmed expectations of a massive crop.

USDA pegged U.S. corn production for the 2016/17 marketing year at 15.226 billion bushels, based on an average yield of 175.3 bushels per acre, up from its October outlook of a 15.057 billion bushel harvest and an average yield of 173.4 bushels per acre.

Analysts had been expecting corn production of 15.041 billion bushels and a yield of 173.2 bushels per acre, based on the average of forecasts in a Reuters survey. The USDA’s yield and production view matched the high end of the range of analysts’ forecasts.

For soybeans, USDA said the crop would be 4.361 billion bushels, 92 million higher than its October outlook. The government’s soy yield view was raised to 52.5 bushels per acre from 51.4.

Analysts, on average, had expected a soybean harvest of 4.314 billion bushels, based on a yield of 52.0 bushels per acre.

In Iowa, the top corn production state and the second biggest for soybeans, USDA raised the average soybean yield to 59.0 bushels per acre from 58.0. The Iowa corn yield view also was raised by 1 bushel per acre to 199.0

USDA unexpectedly raised its 2016/17 corn ending stocks outlook to 2.403 billion bushels, which would be the fifth biggest ever, from 2.320 billion.

USDA raised its soybean ending stocks forecast to 480 million bushels, 60 million bushels higher than the average of analysts’ estimates and up from its October estimate of 395 million bushels. If realized, soybean ending stocks would be the third biggest on record.

Click here to see more...

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.