U.S. corn, soybean ending stocks up 29% from last year

The September 1, 2024, Grain Stocks report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service revealed substantial year-over-year increases in old crop grain stocks across the board.

Corn stocks reached 1.76 billion bushels, a 29 percent rise from September 2023, reflecting significant on-farm and off-farm storage increases. Of the total corn stocks, 780 million bushels were stored on farms, up 29 percent from last year, while off-farm stocks grew by 30 percent to 980 million bushels. In August 2024, corn disappearance was 3.24 billion bushels, compared to 2.74 billion bushels during the same period last year.

Similarly, old-crop soybean stocks totaled 342 million bushels, marking a 29 percent increase from a year earlier. On-farm soybean stocks were up 54 percent, totaling 111 million bushels, while off-farm stocks increased 20 percent to 231 million bushels. June-August 2024 soybean disappearance was also higher, reaching 628 million bushels, an 18 percent increase over the same period in 2023.

Wheat stocks showed notable growth as well, with total wheat in all storage positions reaching 1.99 billion bushels, up 12 percent from a year earlier. On-farm wheat stocks totaled 664 million bushels, up 11 percent, while off-farm wheat stocks reached 1.32 billion bushels, a 13 percent increase. Wheat disappearance during the June-August period was 682 million bushels, up 12 percent from the previous year.

Durum wheat stocks showed the most significant shift, with total stocks up 17 percent from September 2023, reaching 67.3 million bushels. On-farm stocks surged 42 percent to 47.1 million bushels, while off-farm stocks declined 16 percent to 20.2 million bushels. Durum wheat disappearance for June-August 2024 rose by 13 percent to 33.8 million bushels.

In addition to the Grain Stocks report, the Small Grains Annual Summary provided further insights, reporting that 2024 total wheat production reached 1.97 billion bushels, a 9 percent increase over 2023.

The Grain Stocks and Small Grains Annual Summary reports, and all other NASS reports are available online here.

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