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Contact:
Heidi Gant
317-692-7828 (office)
HGant@infb.org

(INDIANAPOLIS) – May 12, 2025 – Indiana Farm Bureau’s Chief Economist Todd Davis is offering up his insights on the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report released earlier this afternoon.

According to Dr. Davis, the USDA is predicting soybean stocks to decrease 16% -- 55 million bushels less than 2024 – and corn stocks to increase 27% or 385 million bushels from last year.

“While the report was not as pessimistic as feared, the increase in corn ending stocks will be a headwind limiting price potential,” Davis said. “USDA is currently assuming weather that would produce record yields, so any weather event that reduces yield potential would reduce supply and potentially reduce ending stocks. But it’s always important to keep in mind that these predictions are preliminary. There’s still a lot of room for Mother Nature to fiddle with those numbers.”

He also noted that any trade or tariff news similar to the Chinese tariff pause announced today from the Trump administration could easily disrupt the market. “After the first trade dispute with China, they started importing a smaller share of U.S. soybeans and instead increased imports from Brazil,” Davis added. “There are a lot of reasons why that’s the case, but in general, markets crave certainty, and we just haven’t had a lot of certainty when it comes to trade this year.”

Read Davis’s full insights here.

The WASDE report is released monthly and provides annual forecasts for the supply and use of crops. For more information about the WASDE process and data, visit the USDA’s FAQs page.

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About Indiana Farm Bureau: For more than 100 years, Indiana Farm Bureau (INFB) has protected and enhanced the future of agriculture and our communities. As the state’s largest general farm organization, INFB works diligently to cultivate a thriving agricultural ecosystem to strengthen the viability of Indiana agriculture. Learn more at INFB.org.