Three-quarters of the winter wheat crop rated good or better as of May 3, its best condition at this stage of development since 1993. Including spring wheat just now being planted, total U.S. wheat production this year is projected at 2.3 billion bushels, a 7 percent drop from last year. Despite the lower crop estimate, prices will remain depressed because more wheat remains in storage from last year and export demand is weak. At the same time, U.S. growers face a strong challenge from the European Union. The early corn outlook, based on farmers' planting intentions, is for a harvest some 275 million bushels larger than last year's and second only to 1995's 10.1 billion bushels.
Most corn is used as livestock feed.
As with wheat, corn price projections are down. Although U.S. corn growers face less competition this year from Europe, export gains will be limited because of new challenges from Argentina and China amid continued economic problems in much of Asia. The initial prediction for soybeans continues a trend in which more farmers are planting them to take advantage of relatively higher prices. Soybean exports have been slowing even as American farmers continue to plant bigger crops, leading to a forecast for the highest level of soybeans in storage in 11 years after this fall's harvest. Florida's orange crop is projected at a record 14 million tons, up 11 percent from last year, which translates into 248 million boxes of oranges.