Indigo Agriculture, a company dedicated to harnessing nature to help farmers sustainably feed the planet, updates its U.S. corn and soybean production forecast for the final time this season.
Over the past four months, Indigo has released its production forecasts ahead of the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE), a comprehensive forecast of crop and livestock supply and demand, to democratize market information crucial to grower decision-making.
Since its September report, Indigo’s corn production forecast has increased 1.6% to 12.7B bushels, while its soybean production forecast has stayed flat at 3.4B bushels. Both of these figures remain below the USDA’s September WASDE report, with Indigo forecasting 8.3% fewer bushels of corn and 5.7% fewer bushels of soybeans than the USDA.
“At the conclusion of what has been one of the most unpredictable growing seasons in recent memory, Indigo is proud to offer a final look at the supply side of the market,” says Barclay Rogers, VP of Business Development for Indigo’s GeoInnovation team. “We’re pleased to offer this information to farmers to help them make the best grain-marketing decisions possible as we enter into the harvest season.”
Indigo Atlas combines remote sensing, ground equipment, historical, and weather data to track the dynamic variables that affect crop health. The technology is also capable of characterizing local soil conditions, drawing field boundaries, and discerning subtle differences in crop performance across regions. This month, Indigo has identified several major-producing states that remain behind the three-year production average, including Illinois, where the average bushel per acre yield for corn and soybeans are 12% and 18% behind the average, respectively.
“Atlas offers near real-time market information, allowing growers to adjust their harvest plans later than ever before,” says Rodney Connor, Sr. Director of Global Markets Intelligence and Analysis at Indigo. “We have seen many delayed acres catch up to historical maturity after a month of favorable weather — a surprising and impactful development. Resulting fluctuations in overall production matter a great deal when recommending the best market position to growers.”
The immediacy and accuracy of Atlas’ information supports growers, traders, investors, buyers, grain marketers, government agencies, and other industry players. Starting in January of 2020, Atlas will generate production forecasts – including yield and acreage estimates – for corn and soybeans in South America.
To access Indigo’s October Production Forecast and discover other agricultural insights, click here.
