WASHINGTON — The US Department of Agriculture made few changes to its 2020-21 supply-and-demand projections for corn and soybeans in its June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report issued today.
The USDA raised its projection for the carryover of corn on Sept. 1, 2021, to 3,323 million bus, up 5 million bus from the May forecast and up 1,220 million bus, or 58%, from 2,103 million bus as the projection for the current year.
The USDA forecast corn production in 2020 at 15,995 million bus, unchanged from the May projection but up 2,378 million bus, or 17%, from 13,617 million bus in 2019. It should be noted the USDA lowered its 2019 production estimate by 46 million bus after assessing a recently concluded resurvey of producers.
The US corn supply in 2020-21 was forecast at 18,123 million bus, up 5 million bus from the May projection and up 2,240 million bus, or 14%, from 15,883 million bus in 2019-20. All the USDA’s demand forecasts for 2020-21 were unchanged from May with feed and residual use at 6,050 million bus; food, seed and industrial use at 6,600 million bus, including 5,200 million bus for use in the manufacture of ethanol, and exports at 2,150 million bus.
Important to note, the USDA lowered its forecast for 2019-20 use of corn for ethanol by another 50 million bus, to 4,900 million, which equated to a 150-million-bu reduction in the forecast for 2019-20 corn use for ethanol since May.
The USDA projected the carryover of soybeans on Sept. 1, 2021, at 395 million bus, down 10 million from the May forecast and down 190 million bus, or 32%, from 585 million bus as the forecast for the current year.
The USDA left unchanged its forecast for the 2020 soybean crop at 4,125 million bus, which would be up 573 million bus, or 16%, from 3,552 million bus in 2019. The soybean supply in 2020-21 was forecast at 4,725 million bus, up 5 million from the May projection and compared with 4,476 million bus in 2019-20.
The soybean crush in 2020-21 was projected at 2,145 million bus, up 15 million from the May outlook and up 5 million bus from the upwardly revised forecast for 2019-20. The USDA forecast soybean exports in 2020-21 at 2,050 million bus, unchanged from May and up 400 million bus from a downwardly revised forecast of 1,650 million bus in 2019-20.