Little reaction to USDA reports

WATSEKA – There weren’t many changes made in Monday’s USDA report, although the numbers were somewhat negative and not much different than what traders were expecting.

“Probably the worst were maybe the soybeans compared to what the June USDA report had,” Merrill Crowley of Ag Trader Talk told The Central Illinois Farm Network.

USDA did not change yield or acres – all they did was update them.

October and December lean hogs were higher as hogs are trying to claw their way back with the news on Friday about problems with African Swine Fever in China.

“That is a little bearish to commodity prices but it is bullish to the hogs,” noted Crowley.

Crowley expects China to come back to the U.S. for more hogs and they are expecting to buy more corn somewhere as they are adding plenty of storage.

“They have encouraged the farmers to grow more and that’s happening.”

Weather continues to have the attention of the markets. Conditions are supposed to turn hot again.

USDA also released information on Illinois crop production for winter wheat. The harvested area in 2021 is forecast at 650,000 acres, up 130,000 from the previous year. Winter wheat yield is forecast at 80 bushels per acre, up 12 bushels from 2020. Production is forecast at 52 million bushels, up 47 percent from last year.