The 2015 national feed situation is off to a not very encouraging start, thanks to the March 31 Prospective Plantings report from USDA.
According to the report, total corn acreage for the year is forecast to be 2 percent lower than a year ago, with wheat down 3 percent. Soybeans are up 1 percent and cotton is up a whopping 29 percent.
Of particular note in the plantings forecast is the corn estimate. As seen in the summary table below, the 2015 total would be the third consecutive year of decline if realized. It would also be the fewest acres planted since 2010.
For soybeans, the forecast adds to the large increase posted in 2014, while the wheat total is little changed from 2011 through 2014. Cotton, however, continues its erratic up-and-down cycle of recent years.
On the price front, May contract prices for all three grains at the Chicago Board of Trade last week traded far below their 52-week highs, with soybeans close to their 52-week low.
Class III milk futures prices, meanwhile, had moved slightly lower into the summer months.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
April 6, 2015
