By National Corn Growers.

Corn stocks and demand in the United States remain stable according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week.  While potential for change in the May report was noted, the agency found that, at present, the previous estimates require no revision.

This news follows reports issued by USDA last Wednesday  indicating that seven percent of the U.S. corn crop had already been planted as of Sunday.  This indicates progress significantly ahead of the five-year average as only two percent of the crop would normally be planted at that time.

Much of the early planting is occurring in the south and central Corn Belt with Tennessee and Kentucky leading the push with planting 31 and 25 points over the average respectively.  Missouri and Illinois also have planted earlier than normal to a large degree.  While all major corn production states with only the exceptions of North Dakota and Wisconsin have documented planting already, the data clearly suggests that most farmers are waiting to plant until their crop insurance dates, which will occur later this week for much of the Corn Belt.

The next edition of the reports, scheduled for release on May 10, will be the USDA’s first projection of the 2012/2013 crop.