The February WASDE typically generates few surprises. In that sense, today’s report stands out as containing some changes that exceeded expectations. The surprises, if that is what they should be called, are not a matter of direction but of degree. And they involve changes in U.S. supply/demand for 2017/18, not the revisions made to Argentine and Brazilian production estimates. The tables below provide some of the key 2017/18 numbers from today’s WASDE.

Following are some more specific comments: Corn - USDA increased estimated U.S. corn exports by 125 million bushels, which was not unexpected. We have often noted during the past few weeks that the pace of export sales was rising as U.S. corn became competitive in the world m...