WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – Heavy rains across the southern and central U.S. Plains throughout May boosted wheat production in that area, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday.
USDA also lowered its soybean supply outlook for the 2015-16 crop year due to increased domestic usage and raised its view of corn supplies due to lower ethanol production in its monthly supply and demand report.
The government forecast winter wheat production at 1.505 billion bushels, up 33 million bu. from the outlook it issued last month. It raised its average yield outlook to 44.5 bu. per acre from 43.5 bu. per acre. In Kansas, the largest production state for winter wheat, the average yield was raised by 5 bu. to 37 bu. per acre.
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The harvest forecast topped expectations. Analysts had been expecting the USDA to project winter wheat production at 1.474 million bu., according to the average of analysts’ estimates in a Reuters poll.
But the storms, which broke a drought in parts of the Plains, also raised disease pressure on the crop and likely caused lodging in some fields.
“The relentless rainfall curtailed fieldwork and threatened the quality of maturing winter wheat,” USDA said in a report.
USDA pegged 2015-16 domestic end stocks for wheat at 814 million bu., up from 793 million in May.
For corn, USDA raised its 2015-16 end stocks view to 1.771 billion bu. from 1.746 billion bu. and its 2014-15 end stocks view to 1.876 billion bu. from 1.851 billion bu.. USDA cited a 25 million bushel cut to the outlook for corn used for ethanol as the reason for the increased corn supplies.
Soybean end stocks for the 2015-16 marketing year were cut by 25 million bu. to 475 million bu.. For 2014-15, USDA cut its soy end stocks view to 330 million bu. from 350 million bu..
The government boosted its expectations for domestic soybean crushings and soymeal use despite an avian flu outbreak in the Midwest that has forced poultry producers to cull around 40 million birds. Corn used for feed also was left unchanged.
USDA also raised its estimate for 2014-15 Brazil corn production by three million tonnes to 81 million tonnes due to increased plantings for the country’s second crop that will be harvested in the coming months. It raised its outlook for 2014-15 Argentine soybean production to 59.5 million tonnes from 58.5 million tonnes due to increased harvested area.
