Your Pro Farmer newsletter (Sept. 14, 2024) is now available

USDA unexpectedly raised its corn crop estimate and mildly reduced the soybean production forecast. We give perspective on where USDA might be headed with yields and crop forecasts in the coming months. It was cuts to old- and new-crop ending stocks for both corn and soybeans that garnered the most market reaction this month. The wheat data was neutral as USDA left ending stock unchanged in September for the eighth time in the last nine years. Aside from the report data, wheat traders were focused on declining private production forecasts in the Black Sea region and Europe. Hurricane Francine ripped through the Louisiana Gulf Coast and Delta, though crop damage was likely limited. The rains associated with the storm should at least temporarily improve water levels on the lower Mississippi River and could provide late-season moisture for some double-crop soybeans up into the Ohio River valley. On the economic front, U.S. consumer inflation inched down toward the Fed’s target, though the data wasn’t tame enough for more than a 25-basis point cut to interest rates as its monetary policy easing starts on Sept. 18. We cover all of these items and much more in this week’s newsletter, which you can download here.