Market News & Headlines >> USDA Corn, Wheat Outlook Bleak

The preliminary 2016/17 carryout estimates and price forecasts released by USDA at its annual Agricultural Outlook Conference last week were discouraging for corn and wheat producers and only added to the pressure on prices of those crops.

USDA pegged the 2016/17 U.S. corn carryout at 1.977 billion bushels, up from this year’s expected 1.837 billion bushel carryout and 29.5% higher than the baseline projection of 1.755 billion bushels it calculated last fall for fiscal 2016 budget purposes based on November 2015 conditions. 

Meanwhile, the average on-farm price of corn for 2016/17 was forecast by USDA at $3.45 per bushel, down from the earlier baseline projection of $3.60, which is also the midpoint of this year’s current projected price range. 

For wheat, USDA projected a 2016/17 U.S. carryout of 989 million bushels, up 23 million from this year’s expected carryout and 61 million bushels above its earlier baseline projection. The increase is seen despite an expected 3.1-million-acre drop in all-wheat plantings for 2016 harvest as USDA projected a 2.3 bushel increase in the U.S. average wheat yield. 

USDA pegged the 2016/17 on-farm average price of wheat at just $4.20 per bushel, down from its previous baseline projection of $4.40 and down 16% from this year’s expected average price of $5.00.