Market Outlook

See the latest Soybeans & Oil Crops Outlook report.

U.S. Soybean Ending Stocks Are Forecast Marginally Lower

USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service’s (NASS) Crop Production report this month indicated the 2024/25 soybean production at the record level of 4.6 billion bushels, marginally lower than last month’s forecast. The lower production forecast for Illinois, Ohio, Alabama, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kentucky is partially offset by higher production for Indiana, Iowa, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. The U.S. soybean yield forecast remains at a record-high 53.2 bushels per acre. Summer weather in the Midwest region was generally beneficial to soybeans, with a lack of extreme temperatures during the pod development stages in August. USDA, NASS’s Weekly Crop Progress report indicated that on September 1, 2024, 65 percent of U.S. soybean acreage was rated in good-to-excellent condition. Soybean crops are rapidly approaching maturity throughout the Midwest, whereas harvesting is now well underway in Louisiana with 25 percent harvested, Mississippi with 17 percent harvested, and Arkansas with 14 percent harvested.

As a result of lower production and reduced carryover from marketing year (MY) 2023/24, the U.S. soybean supply for MY 2024/25 is reduced this month. With unchanged demand and lower supplies, the U.S. soybean ending stocks for MY 2024/25 are forecast at 550.0 million bushels, 10.0 million bushels down compared with last month’s forecast, but up 110 million bushels from MY 2023/24. The U.S. season-average soybean farm price forecast is unchanged at $10.80 per bushel.