by David A. Widmar

The biggest takeaway from the USDA’s March projections of 2016 crop acres was, at a high-level, “too many” acres. While this was especially true for corn, it applies more broadly as well. Given the slower growth in demand for agricultural commodities and several years of above-trend yields, the U.S. and global commodity markets are signaling that inventories are abundant. In fact, the market has pivoted from “too few” acres (especially after the drought of 2012) to “too many” acres. This week we take a big-picture look at U.S. crop acres. (more…)