05/23/25 Afternoon CommStock Report – County Yield Report Reveals USDA Survey Problem

USDA released county-level production estimates for corn and soybeans earlier this month. The survey-based estimates were previously discontinued in early 2024 because of budget constraints on the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Lawmakers eventually directed the USDA to reinstate the county reporting program as well as the previously cut July Cattle Inventory report. Cattle inventories by county were also updated again on May 13th.   Including cattle and calves for both beef and dairy, counties that make up California’s San Joaquin Valley have the highest inventories, with Tulare County registering over 1 million head. Other top counties for total headcount included Deaf Smith County (Hereford), Texas, Weld County, Colorado, Haskell County, Kansas, and Sioux County, Iowa. Cherry County, Nebraska was the leading county for beef cows, with 165,000 head.   For the corn and soybean production records, Daniel Grant, Editor of Illinois Farm Bureau’s FarmWeek news publication, wrote that “the annual report released on May 6 contained some major holes as 2024 yield estimates were not published for 40 of Illinois’ 102 counties due to a lack of information. Grant’s article explains that the county estimates were previously suspended by federal budget cuts before being reinstated earlier this year. Survey…