CHICAGO (Reuters) — The quality of the record-large U.S. corn harvest was “good,” with high average test weights beneficial for export prospects for the world’s top shipper, the U.S. Grains Council said in an annual report on Tuesday.
Average weight of a bushel of corn was 57.6 lbs, below the three-year average of 58.8 lbs but a high enough average to qualify as No. 1 corn grade, the report said.
The council tested 629 samples of corn in 12 of the top-producing states including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and Nebraska. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has estimated the corn crop at 14.4 billion bushels, up from the previous record of 13.9 billion bushels in 2013.
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“This year’s report shows for the second year in a row that the United States has an abundant supply of high-quality corn available to export,” said Kurt Shultz, USGC director of global strategies. “The average values from the report indicate that the United States will have a crop that will store and handle well as it moves through the market channels to export.”
The crop had slightly lower moisture and protein content and comparable starch concentration than the 2013 crop, the report said. Overall higher yields reduced protein while good kernel filling resulted in comparable starch content.
One-hundred percent of the samples tested below the U.S. Food and Drug Administration level of 20 parts per billion of the plant toxin aflatoxin that can sicken animals or humans if ingested.
