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Markets grasping for info during shutdown

The grain markets are scrambling for information as the government shutdown continues.

USDA was scheduled to release its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates Friday, but the Department has delayed all reports until the shutdown is over.

Todd Hubbs is an ag economist with the University of Illinois.

“We like to use the USDA reports, they’re basically the final estimate everybody works off of. We look at corn and soybean production in 2018 (and) saw the yield come down from October to November. Usually when we see that, you see the yield continue to decrease when we get the final numbers in January.”

If that holds true again, he tells Brownfield the lower ending stocks figures would be supportive to corn and soybean prices.

“But we don’t know for sure. With the December 1st stocks report for corn, we’d really like to know what that stocks number is because you can back it out and figure how much feed and residual use there is. (that is) a huge component for consumption of corn in the marketing year.”

Hubbs says he’s doing his own estimates, but the official USDA surveys are the final benchmark.