Every Year We Hear How Bad The US Farm Crops Are Doing And Then .... At Harvest Time --- November 10, 2023

Locator: 46012FARM.

It looks like global warming is killing US agriculture, as Algore predicted.

Oh, wrong, tape. Sorry. Here's the story today.

Link here.

From the linked article:

The most widely grown US crop will total 15.234 billion bushels, the USDA said in its latest set of monthly estimates, surpassing the previous peak of 15.148 billion set in 2016.

The final tally was higher than what most analysts polled by Bloomberg expected.

Corn futures subsequently sank in Chicago trading to their lowest in almost three years.

The bumper crop can be explained in part by advances in genetically modified seeds, which have improved the resilience of corn plants. But the biggest factor by far is the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year.

The war disrupted exports out of the Black Sea region and prompted global crop prices to surge. Farmers acted on that signal and planted more. America’s cornfields took up 10% more area than in 2022, according to the USDA report.So much for the summer of drought and extreme heat in the US that triggered early fears about crop damage. On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture made it official: This year’s corn harvest was the biggest ever.

Plentiful supplies and lower prices are welcome news for producers of poultry and biofuel, as corn is one of their biggest costs. They’re also likely to help keep a lid on food inflation, which has been moderating for months.

And, then of course, the cup is half-full. It gets tedious;

Of course, the other side of the equation means belt-tightening for growers. With the increase in supply outpacing demand, the USDA expects farmers to receive lower average prices for the season.

That’s unwelcome news for agricultural equipment manufacturers, as people are less willing to buy new tractors and other pricey machinery when crop prices are easing. CNH Industrial NV, one of the world’s biggest farm machinery makers, said earlier this week it was reducing salaried workers by 5% as demand declines for its combine harvesters.