AgWeb’s Tyne Morgan and Chip Flory reported that “USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) announced it found a processing error affecting September 2026 corn plant populations, ear counts, yields and production for Kansas and Nebraska. The error also affected September averages for plant populations and ear counts across 10 states, along with U.S. corn yield and production forecasts. However, NASS didn’t say exactly what the error was or why.”
“NASS says it has corrected the affected September data in its Crop Production reports and Quick Stats database. NASS corrected the Nebraska corn yield in September to 182 bu. per acre, up 5 bu. per acre from the original report,” Morgan and Flory reported. “However, the agency emphasized that its October forecasts, released Oct. 9, were reviewed and validated and have not changed.”
Reuters’ Tom Polansek and Julie Ingwersen reported that “on Friday, the USDA revised its September yield estimate in Nebraska, the third biggest US corn-producing state, to 182 bushels per acre from its original September estimate of 177 bushels, a nearly 3% increase. For Kansas, the agency reduced its September yield estimate by about 2% to 118 bushels per acre, from its original figure of 121 bushels.”
“The USDA on Friday revised its national September yield estimate to 178.8 bushels per acre from the original September estimate of 178.5 bushels per acre,” Polansek and Ingwersen reported. “October crop forecasts were reviewed, validated and have not changed, according to the agency.”
Correction Renews Concerns Over USDA Data Accuracy
AgroLatam’s Marcus Ellington reported that “the revisions have renewed debate over the influence of USDA crop reports on corn futures, farm profitability and grain marketing strategies.”
Source : illinois.edu