Grains posted a terrific week with corn stealing the show.  Several private firms rolled out their pre-report production estimates this week and the Informa numbers on Friday morning really lit things up.  Informa issued a corn estimate of 164.8 bpa which is a fraction under the August UDSA numbers and would be considered neutral to price.  The odd thing was that they then added the following statement to quantify their corn numbers.

"Informa Economics expects corn production eventually to be estimated at 13.0 billion at the end of the estimation season. The field count and weather model indications monitored both point to yield prospects in the area of 158.5 bushels per acre and our ongoing acreage research points to larger planted acreage than is estimated by USDA. Combining that implied yield and an additional 1 million acres of planted and harvested corn implies a 13 billion bushel crop as a "most likely final" harvest."

This would be a significant change from the current USDA estimates and would create a tight carryout scenario.  USDA will deliver its September estimates next Friday and this report could easily be a market mover. 

As stated last week, it's all about yield and production size at this point in time.  Huge projected demand in the coming 12 months requires big crops and the supply side is yet to be determined.  All of the estimates and guesses will become reality in the next few weeks but in the meantime, Informa's statement on Friday catapulted Dec. corn into new annual highs creating a very positive technical picture.