USDA boosts white wheat export forecast

Farm and Ranch March 12. 2009 USDA boosted its projection for U.S. wheat ending stocks for the current marketing year by 57 million bushels compared to a month ago in a new report issued Wednesday. That puts carryover at the end of May at 712 million bushels. One reason for the increase was a reduction in U.S. wheat export expectations for all classes except white wheat. Those were raised ten million bushels from last month to 130 million, but white wheat ending stocks are still forecast to increase to 62 million bushels compared to just 37 million this past year. World wheat production and carryout stocks were also raised in the USDA report, and department economist Joe Glauber says there is just a lot of grain in the world. Glauber: "We see a world record wheat crop this year. We see a very strong corn crop. A very strong rice crop, with record productions around the world for wheat, for rice and in some countries corn." Glauber says all of that has contributed to lower prices. USDA did however leave its season average wheat price forecast unchanged at $6.80 a bushel. USDA lowered its estimate of corn ending stocks by 50 million bushels as higher ethanol use more than offset a reduction in exports. The forecast for the corn season average price was increased from $3.90 a bushel to $4.10. The USDA predicted season average price for barley is now $5.10 to $5.30 cents a bushel. I'm Bob Hoff and that's the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on the Northwest Ag Information Network. .