August 21, 2012

 

Improvement in US soy crops expected on Midwest rains
 
 
Analysts were expecting the rains last week in the eastern areas of the US Midwest should improve the soy crop's health but the added soil moisture probably arrived too late to raise harvest prospects.

 

Corn ratings were expected to hold steady again after stabilising a week ago when the USDA releases its weekly crop report on Monday (Aug 20) afternoon.

 

The report was expected to show that soy was rated 31% good to excellent, up 1% from a week earlier. Corn was seen at 23% good to excellent as of August 19, unchanged from last week, according to a Reuters survey of 13 analysts.

 

"Most of the improvement in soy will be cosmetic, not really adding much in the way of yield at this point in the growing season," said Bryce Knorr, senior editor for Farm Futures Magazine.

 

A week ago, soy ratings edged one percentage point higher, their first improvement of the growing season. Corn ratings held steady a week ago, breaking a string of nine straight declines due to the devastating drought that crippled crop development throughout the summer.

 

The good-to-excellent ratings for both crops were expected to remain at their worst for late August since 1988. Poor-to-very poor ratings are worse this summer than they were in 1988.

 

Cooler and mostly dry weather is expected this week in the US Midwest crop belt with the exception of light rain late in the week in the northwest and showers in the southwest Plains Monday and Tuesday (Aug 20-21), an agricultural meteorologist said on Monday (Aug 20).

 

"Rather benign weather this week and next week looks similar," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather.

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