The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Grain Stocks report released today showed that old crop corn stocks on hand as of Sept. 1, 2020 totaled 2.00 billion bushels, down 10% from Sept. 1, 2019. Old crop soybeans stored in all positions were down 42% from Sept. 1, 2019, and all wheat stocks were down 8% from a year earlier.

Corn

Of the total corn stocks, 751 million bushels were stored on farms, down 8% from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 1.24 billion bushels, were down 12% from a year ago. The June-August 2020 indicated disappearance was 3.02 billion bushels, compared with 2.98 billion bushels during the same period a year earlier.

Soybeans

Old crop soybeans stored in all positions on Sept. 1, 2020 totaled 523 million bushels, down 42% from Sept. 1, 2019. Soybean stocks stored on farms totaled 141 million bushels, down 47% from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 382 million bushels, were down 41% from last September. Indicated disappearance for June-August 2020 totaled 858 million bushels, down 2% from the same period a year earlier.

This report also contains revisions to the previous season’s production for corn and soybeans. This has been the normal practice for soybeans for many years. Corn revisions were moved from January to this report to coincide with the end of the marketing season and align with soybeans. Production for 2019 corn was revised up fractionally while 2019 soybean production was revised down fractionally from the previous estimate.

Wheat

All wheat stored in all positions on Sept. 1, 2020 totaled 2.16 billion bushels, down 8% from a year ago. On-farm stocks were estimated at 705 million bushels, down 4% from last September. Off-farm stocks, at 1.45 billion bushels, were down 10% from a year ago. The June-August 2020 indicated disappearance was 695 million bushels, up 4% from the same period a year earlier.

The pre-report average trade estimates included:

• Corn ending stocks at 2.250 billion bushels for corn 
• Soybean ending stocks at 576 million bushels
• Wheat stocks at 2.242 billion. 

NASS conducted separate surveys for on-farm and off-farms stocks during the first two weeks of September.