In this weekly Commodities Watch column, John T. Barone, president and commodities analyst for Market Vision Inc., offers a snapshot of the state of commodities for restaurants.
As of June 3, farmers planted 91 percent of this year’s corn crop, compared to a five-year average of 95 percent.
Corn planting after June 1 usually leads to reduced yield, and many farmers choose to switch to soybeans at this point. So, the discussion now turns to how much acreage was actually planted, what the yield trends are and what size crop those acres will produce.
In May’s WASDE report, the USDA discounted the effects of delayed planting and forecasted the 2012-2013 corn crop to come in at 14.14 billion bushels, 31 percent above last year’s drought-reduced crop. Look for the USDA to drop that number to below 14 billion bushels in this week’s June WASDE.
In addition, corn futures, at $6.66 per bushel, have been whipsawed by weather reports over the past month — a trend that is likely to continue through summer.
Contact John T. Barone at [email protected].
