USDA Corn Yield Estimates Raised

The USDA caught grain markets off guard with its October report, bumping the national average corn yield up by nearly 3 bushels to 181.2 bushels per acre. That pushes total U.S. corn production past 16 billion bushels and leaves ending stocks at 1.85 billion bushels—far more than traders expected. Soybean output was also nudged up to 4.56 billion bushels on a 53.1 bushel-per-acre yield average, while wheat carryover edged up to 740 million bushels. 

For Iowa farm country, this news is a double-edged sword. While it highlights just how efficient Midwestern combine operators are at squeezing high yields out of the dirt, a bigger national crop means a heavier grain supply, which threatens to put downward pressure on cash prices at local elevators right in the middle of harvest.