Long-term Grain Market Outlook Remains Bullish

U.S. corn stockpiles in 2013 will shrink to a 17-year low, according to Agriculture Department data, after one of the worst droughts on record withered crops across the Midwest.

"The summer drought has decimated yield for key crops such as corn and soybeans as much as expected," DTN/The Progressive Farmer said in an August 10 report following the release of the USDA’s updated estimates. "Rainfall through the hardest-hit areas of the country was less than half normal totals, with some areas receiving little or no rain."

With this year’s corn harvest projected to hit a six-year low, corn stocks as a percentage of use may drop to 5.8% at the end of the 2012-13 marketing year, the tightest since 1995-95, DTN noted. The soybean harvest is expected to reach a five-year low.

"There is no mistaking the fact that the longer-term supply and demand situation remains bullish for corn, beans and wheat," DTN analyst John Sanow said.

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