Seems we are getting different projections about the wheat crop. Can you please source your info?

USDA crop statistician Mark Schleusener says cold, wet conditions continue to delay the harvest. "There was very little progress in terms of harvesting crops in Illinois last week," Schleusener said. "Overall, corn harvest has reached 11%. That compares to 30% one year ago, and a five-year average of 68%."

The harvest is moving even slower in western Illinois. Only seven percent of the corn is out of the ground and six percent of the soybeans have been harvested compared to the statewide average of 13 percent.

The USDA rates the corn crop at 66 percent in good to excellent condition and soybeans at 63 percent. Last week's soggy conditions allowed farmers less than two full days to work in their fields.

Alan Reed| Williston Herald This pile of grain sitting on the ground almost blocks the view of adjacent grain bins as Williams Country producers run out of storage capacity this fall due to an anticipated record harvest.
Golden piles are reaching skyward from the ground throughout Williams County and much of northwestern North Dakota as area small grain producers struggle to house what appears to be a record harvest this fall.

Longtime Williams County Extension agent Warren Froelich can't remember the last time he's seen grain piled on the ground across the county landscape like he is this year.

Here is mine: article per your article:ANDso, first, per your article, I think they mean 13 (b)illion. You got another source?

With a bountiful U.S. corn crop and plentiful Canadian wheat harvest on tap, railroads are brimming with optimism about grain trafficby Jeff Stagl, managing editor:
Since last year's disappointing fall harvest, grain's been a pain for U.S. railroads. Through 2009's first 37 weeks, the volume of corn, soybean, wheat and other agricultural products moving along their networks has dropped about 22 percent compared with volume from the same 2008 period.

In Canada, last year's near-record grain crop has helped railroads at least keep traffic in the black so far in 2009, albeit by only a less-than-1-percent margin. Mexican railroads are the only ones in North America to register a significant boost in '09 grain traffic, which is up more than 16 percent year over year primarily because of strong demand for corn — the nation's food staple — although a severe drought is expected to impact the next crop.

The good news for both U.S. and Canadian railroads is that grain volumes are expected to soar for the former and, at the very least, remain stable for the latter. Among the primary reasons for a U.S. grain surge:

Sorry Mcgowan your famine aint happening. Abundance what a concept!

* the U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting a corn harvest around 13 million bushels

With a bountiful U.S. corn crop and plentiful Canadian wheat harvest on tap, railroads are brimming with optimism about grain traffic by Jeff Stagl, managing editor

16 percent year over year primarily because of strong demand for corn — the nation's food staple — although a severe drought is expected to impact the next crop.

The good news for both U.S. and Canadian railroads is that grain volumes are expected to soar for the former and, at the very least, remain stable for the latter.

Among the primary reasons for a U.S. grain surge: * the U.S. Department of Agriculture is projecting a corn harvest around 13 million bushels-

I read the forums from agweb and agriculture.com.. The feeling is that we are way behind, there is a good crop OUT THERE, but its OUT THERE not in the grain bin... and it won't stop raining! and the forecast is for more rain (just check the G FS/EURO...the stream of storms into the midsection is going to continue through Halloween)... Some guys said they'll be harvesting in Dec..

I wonder what happens when/if we get a really cold snap and the corn has a lot of moisture? Is it shot? My brother was out in their cornfield (they about 10 acres in corn/beans here in WI) and he said the corn was very moist still...squishy...said none of it looked dry to him...he isn't a farmer, just a deer hunter )

NEWFIE:

Notice the articles you have there use the words that describe what hasn't happened yet... no one denies the crop isn't there, its just sitting in the field, wet... and not many guys have the equipment to dry this stuff because that equipment is expensive and unnecessary almost any other year.

Damage mounting in corn and soybeans: Iowa corn and soybean harvesting is 3 weeks delayed, just 10-30% in the bin, as of October 17. Crop quality has deteriorated in a cold and damp environment. Growers complained of mold in corn stalks and ears, according to USDA, especially in the western areas of the state damaged by hail. Weakened stalks are not able to stand up to gusty winds. The Iowa crop letter indicated corn was 27% lodging (leaning, falling) and 19% dropping ears, in varying degrees of severity from modest to heavy. Twenty three percent of Iowa soybeans were shattering pods October 17, prior to heavy rains, causing light-moderate damage.

Wet weather has the region's crop harvest at a standstill, with little relief in sight. La Crosse already has had more than 4 inches of rain this month - more than twice the usual October rainfall - and up to a half-inch more is expected to fall by this morning.

As of Friday morning, some parts of Jackson and Trempealeau counties had received nearly 3 inches of rain since Wednesday.

With rain chances and cooler temperatures expected through next week, it will be awhile before farmers can resume the fall harvest, said Bob Dummer, co-owner of Dummer's Grain Service near Holmen. About 80 percent of the area's soybean crop remained in the field Friday, he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, only 14 percent of the state's soybeans had been harvested as of last week, compared with a five-year average of 60 percent. "It's going to take some good weather to get them out," Dummer said.

Not only are the fields wet, but the beans will have absorbed a lot of the rain. Without warm and sunny weather, farmers may have to harvest beans with a higher moisture content and mechanically dry them before storage, adding cost, Dummer said.

Wet weather also has delayed the corn harvest for grain, he said, with the crop still needing to mature. "There are some serious concerns out there" about completing the harvest before winter, Dummer said.

Area rivers and streams also are on the rise, with the Kickapoo River expected to reach near flood stage in Gays Mills and Steuben over the weekend. After one of the driest Septembers on record, the first half of October has had only two dry days.

It also is shaping up to be among the coldest Octobers on record. In the first 22 days, average temperatures have been 10 to 20 degrees below normal. While September's average temperature was 1.8 degrees above normal, October's has so far been 8.5 degrees below.

Blame it on the jet stream, the National Weather Service said. "It's a little unusual," said meteorologist Todd Shea. "We've just been in a very active pattern this month." With the jet stream to the south, cold air is pushing down while surges of warm, moist air continue to push north, Shea said. "They're pretty wound-up storms - more typical of winter."

Today looks to be the only clear day in sight, with a chance of rain returning Sunday and continuing through the week.

Geez 79% drop in corporate tax revenue seems like a lot! No wonder they like to delay the release of stats for 2 months!

This news from the US's largest trading partner:
Corporate tax revenue fell 79 percent to C$273 million in August and personal income tax dropped 5.5 percent to C$8.54 billion. Jobless benefits rose 78 percent to C$2.01 billion in August and were up 54 percent to C$8.98 billion in the first five months of the fiscal year link

Geez 79% drop in corporate tax revenue seems like a lot! No wonder they like to delay the release of stats for 2 months!

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Canada reported a C$5.34 billion ($5.07 billion) budget deficit in August, almost three times as much as in the same month a year earlier, as tax revenue dropped and spending on jobless benefits soared.

1) The 84-hour Midwest forecast is very wet.
2) September/October have seen some of highest level of rainfall ever recorded across most of the Midwest.

Crop losses to begin accumulating
1) Soybeans will have significant quality and yield losses if harvested.

1) The longer the crop stays in the field the less chance we have of getting it all.

1) If it turns cold and the Midwest gets by snow that would be the ultimate worst case scenario. Getting that harvest completed at that would be difficult, if not impossible.

The USDA has made crisis worst
1) By blatantly lying about US crop production, the US has keep prices artificially low and left most of the world completely unprepared for this year’s production shortfalls.
2) Articles about a “huge glut of unpriced old crop" and similar bearish news stories were pure propaganda from the USDA.

From that same article: A deficit of only $5.07 billion is big news? That's one month of AIG bonuses ... or a week of Fannie/Freddie losses.