Monday's USDA Report Seen Revising 2008 Corn/Soy Production Lower

We've already had a look at what is expected from the USDA next week with regards to wheat (here), so lets have a look at what is expected for corn and beans.

Whilst the wheat numbers centre around plantings already in the ground for next season, the corn & bean numbers wrap up the USDA's ideas of the final output for the 2008 crop.

For corn, the average of all analysts estimates is 11.982 billion bushels, according to Dow Jones, in a range of 11.880 billion to 12.078 billion. In November, the USDA put corn at 12.020 billion bushels and 2007's crop was a record 13.074 billion bushels.

Only four of the fourteen analysts surveyed by Dow Jones see corn at or above 12 billion bushels. The average yield is pegged at 153.3 bushels per acre, down a half a bushel from November, but up 2.2 from 2007. Expectations range from 152.3 to 154.5 bushels per acre.

On the soybean front, final output is expected to come in at 2.910 billion bushels, compared to November's guess of 2.921 billion and the 2007 total of 2.676 billion. Analysts’ estimates range from 2.879 billion to 2.940 billion bushels.

The average estimate for yield is 39.1 bushels per acre. That would be down two tenths of a bushel from November and 2.6 less than 2007. Estimates run from 38.7 to 39.6 bushels per acre.

It's a busy day on Monday with the USDA also set to release quarterly and 2008/09 ending stocks figures, plus revised world production estimates.