The U.S. Department of Agriculture is estimating the 2008 soybean crop at 2.921 billion bushels, based on an average soybean yield of 39.3 bushels per acre. The 2008 soybean crop is about 9.2 percent higher compared to the 2007 crop even with the lower yield (39.3 versus 41.7 bushels per acre). Total supply of soybeans is only reduced by 3.9 percent compared to last year due to increased plantings. The soybean crush for the 2008/09 crop year is estimated to be 1.715 billion bushels; this value is slightly lower than the 2007/08 crop year. USDA estimated that approximately 58% of the total available soybean supply will be domestically processed, 35% of the soybeans exported and 6% will be used for seed and other uses.
Soybean meal production is estimated at 40.74 million short tons. About eighty percent will be fed domestically. Total meal use is down slightly (3.6%) which probably reflects greater total supply of feed protein ingredients available to the market and the higher feed prices have slowed livestock and poultry feed demand.
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(*) Marketing year beginning September 1 for soybeans; October 1 for meal.
(**) Estimate
(***) Projection Reference: U.S.D.A. Economic Research Service, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates; WASDE-465, December 11, 2008.
Soybean Quality Report for the 2008 Crop
The American Soybean Association and the US Soybean Export Council have supported a soybean quality survey of the US soybean crop since 1986. This survey is intended to provide international customers information on the quality characteristics of the US soybean crop.
The average protein and oil concentrations for the overall US soybean crop differed from those described in the 2007-quality survey. Average US soybean protein concentration was 1.2% lower in 2008, at 34.0%, and average oil was 0.6% higher, at 19.2%, when compared with the 2007 soybean crop. The researchers conducting the survey indicated that the Western Corn Belt states tended to have larger than average reductions in protein concentration relative to 2007. This was especially true for the states of Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, and Iowa where protein levels were more than 1.5 percentage points lower than in 2007. Nebraska, Michigan and Ohio saw oil concentrations increase by 0.8 percentage points over 2007. Thus demonstrating again the inverse relationship between oil and protein concentrations in soybeans. The lower protein levels in the 2008 crop were attributed to a cold wet spring that delayed planting and the shortened cooler growing season for the 2008 crop.
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