Reporting from this source, summarised, rewritten or translated and published under its name · 5 stories
The October estimate of 188 bushels an acre for Nebraska drove much of the national increase and a 5% fall in corn futures; analysts want NASS to explain why irrigated fields were only 10% of the September sample.
EnvironmentNutrien Ag Solutions' Eric Snodgrass says an El Nino that has already passed the 2015 record helped bring up to 30 inches of rain to parts of the Corn Belt in August and September, with a drier window and a warm northern winter ahead.
LivestockFeedlots have kept inventories steady by feeding cattle longer, pushing August slaughter weights to 1,438 pounds, but record-low placements and dearer feed mean that buffer is running out, Pro Farmer reports.
AgribusinessThe Iowa Realtors Land Institute's September survey puts tillable land up 0.6% over six months and about 1.9% on the year, with pasture and timber ground gaining more.
USDA's Cattle on Feed report put inventory at 11.163 million head on 1 September; August placements of 1.617 million and marketings of 1.519 million were both the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, as feeders hold cattle longer to offset a shrunken herd.
