USDA Reports
Following a major stakeholder meeting, USDA is boosting survey sample sizes and moving data-focused offices out of D.C. to rebuild farmer trust and improve the accuracy of its agricultural reports.
All eyes were on final yields and production, and USDA delivered with record corn numbers. The agency left soybean yields basically unchanged from the November report but did raise overall production.
As farmers look ahead to 2026, grain markets are sending mixed signals based on record corn exports, large supplies, federal payments and ongoing China trade uncertainty.
Details are minimal so it’s not clear how there will be enough staff to provide the Milk Production, Crop Production, Cattle on Feed and WASDE reports with many still furloughed.
The impact of disease and dry conditions are becoming increasingly evident as combines roll. More than 70% of farmers report steady or lower yields in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota.
“I’ve had conversations with lawmakers on the hill, counterparts in the white house and across the cabinet. We are putting together options from A to Z, so when the President decides it’s time, we can step in,” she says.
The department says it will relocate more than half of its Washington, D.C., staff to five hubs around the country, as well as consolidate or eliminate regional offices.
USDA’s latest crop progress report puts the country at 24% of corn and 18% of soybeans in the ground. Farmers are sharing timely rains and great conditions to start the season.
A handful of rain-free days were a perfect recipe for spring planting — and farmers took full advantage of the opportunity. This week’s USDA crop progress report puts corn and soybean acres just ahead of last year’s pace.
As of April 13, USDA says 13 states have started planting corn and 10 are working on soybeans. The report calculates 4% of corn and 2% of soybeans are in the ground so far.
USDA’s March Prospective Plantings report estimates U.S. farmers will plant 95.3 million acres of corn in 2025, 83.5 million acres of soybeans and 45.4 million acres of wheat.
Not only is USDA releasing its first survey-based acreage report of the year, but it’s the week President Trump is set to unleash reciprocal tariffs. Market analysts warn it could be an explosive week in the markets, and farmers should prepare.
Last year’s USDA Cattle Inventory Report showed the smallest cattle herd since 1951. With strong heifer prices and no strong signs of rebuilding underway, the Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor shows supplies may come in even lower than last year.
The latest USDA American Farms and Ranches at a Glance report offers insights to how row crop growers are making a go of it financially in 2025.
Markets saw a double-digit rally as USDA says the 2024 corn and soybean crops were not as big as originally projected.
Leading into the report, surveys showed analysts expected USDA to decrease yields. Instead, the agency bumped the national corn yield by a half a bushel.
USDA raised both old crop exports and feed usage by 75 million bushels. Standard Grain’s Joe Vaclavik describes the report as “the friendliest report you possibly could have received from USDA.”
From more corn acres than expected to a large increase in corn and soybeans currently being stored on farm, market watchers are still digesting USDA’s big June Acreage and Grain Stocks reports.
USDA’s June Acreage report tends to be a major market mover. Ahead of the report, we asked economists to weigh in on where think the acreage numbers could land in the report set to be released June 28.
USDA’s May WASDE report sent corn and soybean prices higher, it also caused wheat to soar. However, one analyst questions why the trade viewed the latest report as so bullish.
Lance Honig, acting director of the NASS methodology division, says budget constraints led to the agency’s decision. The County Estimates data was used over the years, in part, to determine federal farm program payments.
USDA’s April WASDE report showed larger wheat and soybean ending stocks, but smaller ending stocks for corn. More surprising, still, was the lack of changes to South America’s crop estimates.
The March Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor found nearly 80% of those surveyed say soybeans pencils better than corn this year, but economists still increased their corn acreage projections slightly in the latest survey.
USDA cut its estimate for Brazil’s soybean production by 1 MMT in the March WASDE report, which was less than what the trade expected. USDA didn’t make any cuts to Brazil’s corn.
With larger-than-expected yield revisions to both corn and soybeans, it leaves one burning question: which states grew such big yields in 2023? USDA NASS released maps and charts to help answer that.
USDA’s final look at crop production for 2023 caught the commodity markets by surprise. The agency increased the final yield estimates for both corn and soybeans, and as a result, prices plummeted on Friday.
Despite weather concerns sprouting in Brazil, USDA didn’t make any major adjustments to the South American crop in Friday’s reports. Increased demand from China and Mexico prompted USDA to trim U.S. ending stocks.
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USDA upped its corn yield estimate by nearly 2 bu. to a 174.9 bu. per acre national yield. The agency also increased its demand estimate, which softened the potential blow of such a big jump in production.