Jul 27, 2022
2022 U.S. Corn Yield Lowered 2.0 bu/ac to 175.0 bu/ac
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
The 2022 U.S. corn yield was lowered 2.0 bu/ac this week to 175.0 bu/ac and I have a neutral to lower bias going forward.
Rainfall last week and over the weekend favored the northern and eastern Midwest with scant rainfall in the southwestern areas. Rainfall this week is expected to favor the southern Midwest and northern Delta. Dryness is expected to increase in the northwestern Midwest including Iowa. Temperatures this week should be seasonal across most of the Midwest. The longer-range forecast is calling for hotter and dryer weather to return especially for the western and northwestern Midwest.
The 2022 U.S. corn rating declined 3% last week to 61% rated good/excellent. Most of the declines in ratings were found in the western Corn Belt and they were the result of the high temperatures. The corn development is slower than normal with 62% of the corn silking compared to 76% last year and 70% average. Corn silking is about a week behind average and some of the pollination/silking occurred under high temperatures in states such as Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri. Corn in dough is 13% compared to 17% last year and 15% average.
Approximately 2/3 of the corn was planted during the month of May, which was a couple of weeks later than normal. In a typical year, the earlier planted corn would have all pollinated by now, but this year, a lot of the corn pollinated just as the temperatures were the hottest. Additionally, high nighttime temperatures continue to be a concern especially in the western and southwestern areas.
On the positive side, rainfall during early July helped to delay the development of dryness and the eastern Corn Belt has escaped the worst of the heat.
The USDA will resurvey the planted acreage in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota and if there are any adjustment to be made, they will be incorporated into the August Crop Report. Additionally, there could be more corn abandonment than normal this year in the dryer western and southwestern areas due to more corn than normal being used for silage and some corn not harvested due to drought.