Porto Alegre, August 25, 2020 – Pro Farmer’s traditional Crop Tour took place last week in the United States, centering the market’s attention. The tour, which collects samples in several soybean- and corn-growing states, checking crop conditions and making estimates for yield and production, was highly expected this season due to the climatic event that hit some U.S. states in the second week of August. The main doubt this year was about Iowa, the state most affected by an atypical wind storm that brought the destruction of properties and problems to some plantations. However, according to the Crop Tour, Iowa’s crop problems were not as extensive. Moreover, another conclusion was that most crops in the main growing states have extremely favorable conditions. Such facts led Pro Farmer to estimate great yields and a huge U.S. production in the 2020/21 season.
According to Pro Farmer, the U.S. soybean crop must hit 4.362 billion bushels in 2020, or 118.71 million tons, with an average yield of 52.5 bushels per acre (3,531 kilograms per hectare). Production and yield were slightly below those estimated by USDA in its most recent report, which brought figures of 120.43 million tons and 3,584 kilograms per hectare, respectively. Figures lower than those from USDA were already expected by the market, as there was not enough time for the Department to address the problems arising from the weather event in its August report. Anyway, the production estimated by Pro Farmer is still very relevant, while the average expected yield is the highest in U.S. history. Moreover, the entity estimates a margin of error of 2%, up or down, which can take the U.S. production to more than 121 million tons.
The attention of the market now turns to the next USDA report, which will be released on September 11. The weather in the growing belt is still an important factor for the coming few weeks, as the harvest begins in September. In any case, a new super crop in the United States is already practically consolidated.
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