The USDA published an updated crop report, specifically on stockpiles today.
Corn stockpiles were estimated at 1,738 million bu, which is below average trader forecasts. Interestingly enough, it is roughly the same as last year at this time, despite the good crop last year. This, to me indicates strong demand which is good news as we have a big crop coming in the US, at least that is what we keep hearing.
Soybean stockpiles were estimated at 197 million bu, also lower than forecasts, and again, not much change from a year ago.
This in my opinion explains some of the positive reaction (if you’re a grain farmer) in the corn/soy prices today.
Wheat is another story – the world’s staple food had much, much higher stocks than anticipated, and grew from a year ago. No wonder we see pictures on twitter of giant piles of wheat on the ground under tarps in the US.
This is going to be an interesting ride into the harvest for corn and soybeans.