Where will the big 2009 corn and bean crops go?
That means another year of large supplies. Where will all that corn and soybeans go? One market is livestock feed. Hart says the livestock industry continues to work through financial difficulties. “While feed demand projections are still lower than in previous years, the decline is projected to halt this year,” he says. Another traditional market is biofuels. “Crop demand growth via biofuels has slowed as the biofuel industries move through a consolidation phase. Biofuel data from the first few months of 2009 show the ethanol industry is continuing to grow, just at a slower rate than before, while biodiesel production is behind last year’s pace,” says Hart. Exports have been the bright spot. Hart says soybean exports from the 2008 crop are on record pace, and USDA’s projections for the 2009 crop point to higher corn and strong soybean exports. While demand has been weakening, lower crop prices could help spur a reversal in that trend. “Lower corn and soybean prices imply lower product
