WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) – The United States Department of Agriculture will not release the U.S. crop report and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report scheduled for Friday “due to the lapse in federal funding,” a spokesperson said on Monday.
“No reports,” said USDA spokesperson Courtney Rowe, when asked if the reports would be produced. She said a new date for the reports has not been selected.
There had been little chance of the reports being issued. USDA has up to 10 days of data collection and analysis yet to perform before it can estimate the size of fall-harvested U.S. crops, although the world crop report can be assembled fairly quickly.
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“USDA will not issue a WASDE report this week due to the lapse in federal spending,” she said.
The federal government has been shut down since Oct. 1, preventing the release of weekly USDA reports on ag exports, crop condition and grain inspected for export.
The monthly crop and WASDE reports are the most prominent of USDA reports and are followed worldwide because of their impact on commodity prices. The United States is the world’s largest farm exporter and a major source of corn, soybeans and wheat.
In the absence of USDA data, private forecasters and consultants have taken a larger role in marketing.
