While there was a small bit of positive news in the Midwest concerning the rains that came during the past week, these brief showers were not enough to reverse the lack of moisture that people in agriculture and those who have used farm equipment have noted is ruining harvests this year.
According to Bloomberg News, the U.S. Department of Agriculture left its corn crop ratings unchanged despite the recent rains, but it did slightly increase those measures for soybeans in the region. The slight uptick in the latter crop was not enough to influence sentiment in the market, however, and unless a change in the forecast happens, further damage could be done.
"We would caution that the improvement in crop conditions is small and does not change the overall bleak supply outlook," Luke Mathews, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), said in a report today, according to the news outlet.
CNN reported that the main issue for some farmers has not been this year's harvest, but the potential trend that this could be setting for future plantings. This type of heat and lack of precipitation, if sustained over a number of years, could hurt the industry in a permanent way.
Drought continues to wreak havoc in Midwest: Corn and soybean prices shoot up
The U.S. Department of Agriculture left its corn crop ratings unchanged despite the recent rains, but it did slightly increase those measures for soybeans in the region.