Grain markets have dropped again, following a bearish USDA report and a sharply stronger pound.

As Farmers Weekly went to press, feed wheat values were more than £3/t down on the week, at £144/t ex-farm for spot movement. Oilseed rape markets were almost £7/t weaker, at about £285/t.

Although the USDA slashed soya yield estimates – and therefore US soya production by about 3m tonnes – it actually raised its global oilseeds estimate by 2m tonnes, with the Brazilian crop set to increase by 3m tonnes. It also raised global wheat production by 3.5m tonnes, to a record 709m tonnes, with larger crops confirmed in Canada and the EU. Larger US corn yields combined with lower coarse grain consumption led to a 1.3m tonne increase in global ending stocks.

With 4% of the US corn crop now harvested, crop condition continued to decline, with 53% rated good to excellent, compared to 54% last week. Soya condition also continued to drop, at 50% good to excellent against 52% last week. However, beneficial rains were weighing on US markets, with UK values not helped by the strong pound and euro, making exports from the UK and EU less competitive.