US CORN-SOYBEAN TRACKER: Wet weather forecast likely to ease stress on corn, soybean crop

The stress on recently planted corn and soybean crop in the US is expected to ease amid forecasts for normal to above-normal precipitation in coming days across the Midwest, according to meteorologists.

Over the next seven-eight days, rains are expected in the Midwest, especially in the northern parts, meteorologists said June 23. Although showers by late June were expected to miss some key areas, there was a high probability of more rain in July across a wider region in the Midwest.

July is critical for corn and soybeans as the crop undergoes reproductive stages.

Weather in July was expected to determine the fate of US corn and soybean harvest for the 2023-24 marketing year (September-August) after dry May and June, when the crop receives barely half the optimum moisture, market analysts said.

A dry June, especially in the eastern Corn Belt, has already taken a toll on the crop condition.

In its crop progress report for MY 2023-24 released June 20, the US Department of Agriculture said 55% of corn and 54% of soybeans were in good-to-excellent condition, down 6 and 5 percentage points on the week, respectively. In the same period a year earlier, corn crop in good to excellent condition was estimated at 70%, while soybean was at 68%, USDA data showed.

The US is forecast to produce record volumes of corn and soybeans in MY 2023-24. Corn production was pegged at 387.75 million mt, up 11% on the year, while soybean output was projected at 122.7 million mt, up 5% on the year, according to the USDA's latest World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate report released June 9.

Weather in July was expected to play a major role in attaining record outputs as dry conditions can quickly hurt expectations, commodity analysts said.

Here is the latest update on some of the key factors that affected the soybean and corn market: