USDA Crop Plantings and Stocks Reports

The June Crop Plantings and Stocks reports can be big market movers, as it gives us a much better look at the crop and what the next marketing year holds for farmers. This year’s reports weren’t terribly surprising as most acreage totals fell within the average trade expectation.

Soybeans were the exception, coming in at 88.325 million acres, down from a March 1 planting intentions estimate of 90.955 million acres, and below the lowest pre-report trade guess. Arkansas farmers have seeded 3.2 million acres to soybeans. Stocks were estimated to be 971 million bushels, up 26% from the previous year. November beans rallied sharply following the report but it was short lived, and the market closed lower. The market is building support at $14 but ran out of buying interest above $15.

Corn plantings were pegged at 89.921 million acres, which was near the average of trade expectations and up 431,000 acres from the March 1 estimate. Arkansas farmers have seeded 710,000 acres of corn this year. Analysts were generally very accurate in estimating corn stocks, with USDA reporting corn stocks of 4.346 billion bushels, compared to an average trade guess of 4.343 billion. That’s up 6% from the previous year. December futures saw renewed weakness as the market fell through support at $6.30 and charted the lowest close in nearly 4 months.

Rice acreage was pegged at 2.343 million acres nationwide, with 1.151 million of those acres in Arkansas. The March 1 planting intentions report estimated the crop to be 2.452 million acres, but the cut didn’t seem to be enough to spark any movement in the market either way. September futures traded in a narrow range within Wednesday’s trading range before closing slightly lower. The market is consolidating between support near $16.40 and resistance at $17.

Cotton plantings are estimated to be 12.478 million acres, up from the March planting intentions estimate of 12.058 million and near the top of the range of pre-report estimates. Arkansas acres are pegged at 500,000 acres. After a very rapid sell-off last week, December cotton futures have found support at 91.20 cents, which was a new 7-month low.