USDA forecasts record average wheat price for next marketing year
Farm and Ranch March 1, 2011 At last week’s USDA Outlook Forum department economist Joe Glauber said that despite increased wheat plantings, total wheat production this year in the U.S. is expected to fall about six percent from 2010. One reason, higher winter wheat acreage abandonment rates in the southern Plains. World wheat production is expected to rebound which will reduce U.S. export opportunities and as a result wheat exports are expected to fall about 12 percent to 1.15 billion bushels. Still, Glauber says U.S. wheat ending stocks are forecast to decline and the average price for wheat for 2011-2012 could be record high. Glauber: “Because of the lower production number ending stocks are projected to fall to 663 million bushels and that will leave what we see as an average price for wheat at $7.50. So here we see a case where globally wheat should come back a bit but here in the U.S. I think we will see a situation where stocks should tighten a bit further.” Glauber says the corn market will remain tight too despite an anticipated four percent increase in planted acres in the U.S. He said the 2011-2012 average corn price is $5.60 a bushel. That would also be record high. I’m Bob Hoff and that’s the Northwest Farm and Ranch Report on Northwest Aginfo Net. ?
