Last week’s USDA crop report held no real surprises for the corn and soybean markets, as USDA made a small downward revision in its corn crop estimate and raised expected soybean production slightly.

USDA’s Sept. 1 crop survey pegged U.S. corn production at 8.849 million bushels, which was a drop of 37 million from its Aug. 1 estimate, but 20 million bushels above the average of pre-report trade estimates.

The USDA survey pegged soybean production at 2.656 billion bushels, 28 million bushels above its Aug. 1 estimate, but 17 million bushels below the average of trade estimates.

The corn number should be completely neutral for futures prices, while the soybean number looks slightly bullish. The soybean market is likely to assume that production has been trimmed by the return warm, dry weather in the Midwest since Sept. 1, offsetting the crop improvement seen during August.

Editors note: Richard Brock, Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.