Will there be enough corn for 2011/2012 feed and biofuel needs?

Drover's CattleNetwork
Dr. Robert Wisner, Biofuels Economist, Iowa State University Updated: October 7, 2011

This year’s combination of weather events has taken a serious toll on U.S. grain and oilseed crops. That picture was reinforced by the National Agriculture Statistics Service of the USDA in its September 12 crop production forecasts. The U.S. average corn yield was forecast at 148.1 bushels per acre, down from a disappointing 152.8 bushels last year, 153 bushels per acre in the August forecast, and a long-term trend yield of about 162 bushels per acre. Early in the spring planting season, some analysts had talked of possible yields in the upper 160 to mid-170s bushels per acre. The latest crop forecast indicates production will be about 770 million bushels or 5.8% below corn utilization in the year ended August 31, 2011. Adding to uncertainty for corn users, this number is still quite tentative.

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