May WASDE a Mixed Bag for Corn and Soybean Prices

Smith: The May World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate projections were a little bit uncertain because of planting in the Northern Hemisphere and harvest ongoing in the Southern Hemisphere. AFBF Economist Betty Resnick talks about what stood out in the WASDE report.

Resnick: So, the May WASDE is the first of the year to include demand and supply projections for the '24-'25 crop currently being planted. Overall, the situation for new crop corn has improved and become less bearish over the past few months. Projected new crop ending stocks for corn are about 17 percent below projections published in February at the USDA Ag Outlook forum. But the opposite is true for soybeans, which are starting to look pretty heavy on the supply side and very dependent on continued growth in demand to keep prices from sliding too far.

Smith: She says all of USDA's commodity price projections for all nine row crops were below 2023 price levels. Resnick talked about changes from the previous WASDE.

Resnick: The biggest change, of course, is just all that new data. There are also some tweaks on the old crop side, including some lower supply, lower production in Brazil, in addition to some increases in demand for corn for the old crop.

Smith: Resnick says the next few weeks will be critical for farmers looking to make crop insurance deadlines.

Resnick: So, it's really crunch time for farmers to get that corn crop in right now due to delays with rains throughout the country. As of May 12, the corn crop was 49 percent planted nationwide, which is about five percent below a five-year average. Illinois at 14 percent and Iowa at 13 percent are the furthest behind. Crop insurance final planting dates and also just late plant in general are starting to creep up, with corn being May 31 in Iowa and June 5 In Illinois, so we're really starting to watch that pretty closely.

Smith:Learn more on the Market Intel page at fb.org. Chad Smith, Washington.