Farmers and Analysts Successfully Coping with USDA Data Shutdown
Despite the stoppage in USDA crop reports due to the federal shutdown, farmers and analysts are independently gathering their data with success
According to a recent Des Moines Register article, farmers and analysts currently deprived of USDA data as a result of the federal shutdown are filling the void by gathering information from private sources and their own research.
The USDA recently halted the release of key publications that provide data to farmers and analysts, including the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report which often times has a significant impact on commodity prices.
The shutdown of these reports has led farmers and analysts to turn their focus elsewhere. Don Roose, president of U.S. Commodities Inc. in West Des Moines, says about the change in the data gathering process, “You don’t feel like you are completely handcuffed. You can still function and move around and gather information. You just have to rely on your own research and your own skills rather than the government. It gives us an idea of what’s going on in absence of that data.”
Roose and other grain market watchers are more closely communicating with those that deal directly with yield results, including grain elevator operators, who obtain a good look into the success of corn and soybean harvests in local areas. Additionally, private firms have strongly entered the marketplace, offering their own reports to supplement the USDA‘s absence.
While the USDA continues to be affected by the federal shutdown, farmers and analysts have filled the void by interacting with private firms and using their own research strategies to gather needed data.