The July supply and demand update from the USDA was released this week with a handful of surprises. The too long didn’t read version by commodity would break down as follows, surprising (to some) cuts to exports helped to offset much of the production lost through reduced acres in soybeans, while in corn yield was not trimmed as much as expected, with new crop demand surprisingly left unchanged, and for wheat, late rains helped boost production a bit, adding bushels to new crop carryout.
Weather-wise we are heading into one of the most important parts of the production season for corn, with pollination getting underway across much of the Corn Belt. The pattern has gone from one of the driest stretches of weather in history, to a far more active one, providing crop saving rains across much of the heart of the country’s main growing regions. There is dryness developing in the Northern Plains, with long-term dryness that needs to be watched across the Canadian Prairies, but for the most part the forecast for the next two weeks looks relatively benign.
