Well, this is the time of year we start getting some hard data about how the year is shaping up for the 2024 harvest. How’s it looking, Commissioner?
We got the first of the monthly yield forecasts from USDA NASS recently, and it has some interesting information.
These yield estimates were based on data collected before Tropical Storm Debby, so I expect we’ll see some further changes again next month.
Corn:
· Estimated at 95 bushels to the acre
· This is down 55 bushels from last year’s record high 150 bushels and the lowest yield since 93 bushels in 2015.
· Corn acreage was revised down 35,000 acres and now sits below last year
Soybeans:
· Estimated at 38 bushels per acre
Peanuts:
· Estimated at 4,000 pounds per acre, just slightly below 2023 yields.
Cotton:
· Estimated at 829 pounds per acre, just over 100 pounds lower than last year.
Peaches:
· A bumper crop at 105,000 tons is forecasted.
· This is of course a dramatic increase from last year’s crop (38,800 tons) which was devastated by several freeze events.
· This is also the largest crop since 2010 which was 110,000 tons.