USDA August WASDE Report Set to Reveal Corn and Soybean Yield Forecasts

The USDA will release its August Crop Production and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at 11 a.m. CDT. This report comes as the U.S. harvest approaches in just two months, and traders are eager to see how the yield and crop forecasts have changed since July.

For corn, the December contract rallied more than 50 cents in the first three weeks of July due to hot and dry conditions across the U.S., but the market has removed some of that weather-related price premium as rainfall improved through late July and early August. However, crop conditions for the U.S. crop have declined in recent USDA updates, leading traders to wonder if the agency will show a dampened optimism for production potential.

The average trade guess is calling for a 182.5 bushel per acre (bpa) national corn yield, a 0.5-bpa cut from July's estimate. If this is realized and assuming acreage remains unchanged, it would suggest a 15.950 billion bushel (bb) corn crop, the second largest on record behind last year.

For soybeans, the market has been volatile in recent weeks, with prices fluctuating due to weather forecasts. The burning question now is whether hot and dry periods in July will limit the potential for a record-tying 53 bpa trendline output in 2026.