U.S. corn beginning to silk

Jul 10, 2019

About 8 percent of the national corn crop is in this stage, the USDA said

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

The U.S. corn crop is starting to enter its next development stage.

About 8 percent of national corn acres are silking, the USDA’s latest Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin said on July 9. That figure is down from 34 percent last year.

On a state level, 73 percent of corn in Texas is in the silking stage. That number is up from 67 percent in 2018.

In North Carolina, where corn is 62 percent silked, some crops are even further along, said Darren Armstrong, a producer from Belhaven, N.C.

“Our corn is tasseled and is starting to pollinate,” he told Farms.com. “We’re about three weeks away from harvest and I really think we’ve got a good crop on our hands.”

Some of his crop, though, is showing stress because of hot and dry spells during the growing season.

“We had about two weeks in May that was really hot and dry, and I think it knocked some of the corn back a little bit,” Armstrong said. “Then, around the end of June, we got back into drought conditions.”

Given Hurricane Florence’s effect on the state’s ag industry last year, dry weather is an easier hurdle to overcome, he added.

American soybean fields are also progressing.

About 10 percent of the U.S. soybean crop has bloomed, the USDA’s report said. That figure is down from 44 percent last year.

Louisiana leads the country in the category.

Soybeans in the state are 73 percent bloomed, which is down from 91 percent last year. Soybeans in Michigan and Wisconsin haven’t yet flowered, the USDA said.

Farms.com has reached out to soybean producers for crop updates.

Oleksandr Yuchynskyi/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo

Video: Will the 2025 USDA December Crop Report Be a Market Mover/Surprise?

Historically, the USDA December crop report is a non-event or another dud report as the USDA reserves any final supply changes to the final report in January of the following year in this case 2026. But after the longest U.S. government shutdown in history at 43 days and no October crop report will they provide more data/surprise and make an exception?
Our China U.S. soybean purchase tracker is now at 26.6% or a total of 3.2 mmt but for traders it’s taking too long to unfold.
The final Stats Canada production report was bearish canola and wheat projection a record crop in both (it adds to the global glut of supplies) and bullish local corn and soybean prices in Ontario/Quebec thanks to a drought. It will not help the fund flow short-term, the USDA may need to offset it?
A U.S. Fed interest rate cut of another 25-basis point next Wednesday (probability 87.1%) could help fund flow and sentiment in stock and ag commodities into year end.
More inflows into Bitcoin this past week saw prices rebound back above 90,000 with support at 82,000 and resistance at 96,000.
A V-shaped bottom in cattle suggest the lows are in after Mexico reported another new world screwworm case. Lower weights, seasonal demand and higher U.S. beef select/choice values with a continued closure of the Mexican border to cattle will result in a resumption of higher cattle futures into yearend.
Australia is expected to produce its 3rd largest wheat crop ever at 36 mmt adding to the global glut of supplies.
Reports of ASF in hogs in Spain the largest pork exporter in Europe could see the U.S. win more pork export business long-term.
If the rains verify into next week of 3-5 inches for Brazil it would go a long way to fixing the dry regions from the last 2-months, but the European weather model has been wrong for the past 2-months!
Natural gas futures are surging to the 3rd price count as frigid hold temps set in.
CDN $ is also surging to end the week on a very resilient economy and better employment numbers suggesting no interest rate cuts next week.
Finally, the CFTC report showed funds were net buyers of soybeans but sellers of corn, canola and wheat. In real time the funds have gone back to selling as they take some profits.