(Agriculture.com) – This is a big week for the farm markets. On Friday, the USDA will release its January Crop Production and Supply/Demand Reports. Specifically, the market will find out the USDA’s final answer on just how much 2012 corn and soybeans the U.S. farmers harvested and just how much grain was on-hand, as of December 1.
With a drought-stricken production season and early harvest, some market watchers believe some of the 2012 crop was used up before the end of the marketing year in September. Therefore, of the five different reports to be released at 11am CST, the USDA’s Inventory Forecast, specifically its estimate on December 1 corn stocks, is the number that could determine how the market reacts to Friday’s data.
Roy Huckabay, executive vice president at Linn Group, says the USDA has its work cut out for it in determining this week’s numbers.
