US Grains Council : USGC Releases Corn, Sorghum Harvest Reports, Begins Global Rollouts

The U.S. Grains Council (USGC) recently published the first two of its annual reports on corn and sorghum harvest quality, offering grain buyers updated, detailed information about these U.S. commodities as the global market becomes increasingly competitive.

In 2016, U.S. farmers produced a corn crop estimated at 387 million metric tons (15.24 billion bushels) and a sorghum crop of approximately 12 million metric tons (472.42 million bushels). The U.S. exports corn and sorghum to more than 70 countries, making the producers of these crops cornerstones of global food security.

The 2016/2017 Corn Harvest Quality and the Sorghum Harvest Quality reports continue a series started in 2011 for corn and last year for sorghum. Covering grade factors, chemical composition and physical factors, they are powerful tools for USGC's outreach to customers looking at price, quality and supplier reliability when they make their buying choices.

This past production year, a warm, dry vegetative period, followed by a warm and wet grain-filling period and harvest produced superior quality for corn. The good sorghum quality is the result of favorable growing and harvest conditions, which also resulted in high yields.

Highlights of the 2016/2017 reports are as follows:

Corn

The corn report is based on 624 yellow commodity corn samples taken from defined areas within 12 of the top-producing and exporting states. The report shows that 87.9 percent of U.S. corn samples were rated U.S. grade No. 2 or better. The following are highlights of the corn report:

• Average test weight of the samples was 58.3 pounds per bushel (75.0 kilograms per hectoliter), indicating good kernel filling and maturation.
• No observed heat damage was noted in the samples.
• More than 96 percent of the samples were within the range for U.S. No. 1 grade for broken corn and foreign material (BCFM), meaning little cleaning will be required.
• Average elevator moisture of 16 percent shows slightly more samples required drying than in 2015, but less than 2014.
• Average protein concentration was 8.6 percent on dry basis, higher than 2015.
• Average oil concentration of 4.0 percent on a dry basis was higher than the 2015 crop and the five-year average.
• Average starch concentration was 72.5 percent on a dry basis.

A second, complimentary report covering the condition of corn ready for export will be released later this year.

Sorghum

This report is based on 254 commodity sorghum samples taken from defined areas in nine top-producing states. The sorghum samples showed the following characteristics:

• Average test weight of the samples was 59.1 pounds per bushel (76.1 kilograms per hectoliter), which indicates good kernel filling and maturation.
• More than 86 percent of the samples were at or below the limit for U.S. No. 1 grade for broken kernels and foreign material (BCFM), signaling little cleaning will be required.
• Neither tannis nor heat damage were observed in the sample.
• Average protein concentration was 8.5 percent on a dry basis, lower than 2015.
• Average starch concentration and oil concentration (on a dry basis) were 72.6 percent and 4.4 percent, respectively.

The Council will highlight the results of each report through its overseas missions and international programs with rollouts over the next several months.

As quality of grain remains an important characteristic sought by buyers and demand for U.S. commodities increases, the Council looks forward to engaging with global partners to promote and develop markets for U.S. feed grains in the coming year.

The full corn report is available here, and the full sorghum report is available here.