Market News

Analysts expect slightlysmaller wheat production estimate

USDA will be updating its wheat production estimate Wednesday with analysts expecting the Ag Department to lower its projections.

Ahead of the report, the average of all analysts' guesses for the total 2009 crop is 2.021 billion bushels, in a range of 1.993 billion to 2.055 billion. The estimate in the May report was 2.026 billion and 2008's crop totaled 2.500 billion bushels.

The total winter wheat crop is projected at 1.496 billion bushels, compared to 1.502 billion in May and the 2008 total of 1.868 billion. Analysts' estimates range from 1.482 billion to 1.531 billion bushels.

The hard red winter crop is pegged at 871 millionbushels, which would be unchanged from May, with soft red winter at 417 million, 5 million below last month, and white winter wheat at 208 million steady with the May report.

The numbers are out Wednesday, June 10 at 7:30 AM Central.