Futures Broker / Grain News

By Mark Weinraub
CHICAGO, July 6 (Reuters) – The U.S. Agriculture Department
lowered its good to excellent ratings for U.S. corn and
soybeans on Tuesday as damp conditions took a toll on crops in
key production states such as Iowa.
In its weekly report, USDA rated the corn crop as 71
percent good to excellent, down from 73 percent last week.
Soybean conditions were rated 66 percent good to excellent,
down from 67 percent a week ago.
Some corn fields likely suffered nitrogen loss due to the
wet weather, which will limit yield potential and continue to
weigh on crop ratings throughout the growing season, said Shawn
McCambridge, analyst with Prudential Bache Commodities in
Chicago.
Analysts, on average had been expecting good-to-excellent
corn ratings of 73 percent, according to a Reuters poll of
eight analysts. Soybean condition ratings were expected to be
68 percent good to excellent.
In Iowa, which is typically the top state for both corn and
soybean production, USDA rated the corn crop as 65 percent good
to excellent, down 7 percentage points from a week earlier. The
Iowa soybean crop was seen as 64 percent good to excellent
compared to 66 percent a week ago.
Flooding in the west-central Iowa and the southeastern
portion of the state inflicted heavy damage on crops in those
areas during the end of June before drier weather arrived.
“Dry days last week helped field conditions but many areas
still suffering the negative effects of excess moisture,”
according to a report from the USDA’s National Agricultural
Statistical Service’s Iowa field report.
Analysts’ estimates for U.S. corn ratings ranged from 71 to
76 percent in the good-to-excellent categories while forecasts
for soybean ratings ranged from 66 to 70 percent good to
excellent.