New Delhi — On the third day of Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour in seven districts of Illinois, the soybean pod count in a three-by-three-foot square averaged 997.68 pods, down 27.6% from last year's tour, S&P Global Platts Analytics said in its report.
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The US Department of Agriculture's soybean yield forecast for the region is 55 bushels/acre, which is down 15.4% on the year.
There were some flowers left on many of the bean plants, suggesting more yield is possible under the right conditions, but time is running out, Meyer said.
Due to heavy flooding in spring in the US' midwest region, which comprises 12 states including top soybean producers Iowa, Illinois and Minnesota, soybean planting was delayed by almost three weeks, making the crop vulnerable to dry and frost conditions towards the end of the season, lowering yield estimates and harvest, the US Department of Agriculture said in an earlier report.
The US soybean production for 2019-2020 is projected at 100.16 million mt, down 19% year on year, the USDA said in its latest World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report released August 12.
The USDA report estimated US soy yield at 48.5 bu/acre, down 6% year on year, for the 2019-2020 (September-August) marketing year.
-- Asim Anand, aanand@spglobal.com
-- Edited by Norazlina Jumaat, norazlina.jumaat@spglobal.com