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At an industry conference in Chicago this week,analysts peppered USDA officials with questions about how they account for grain that is harvested before the start of the USDA’s marketing year on September 1st.
Counting it as part of the old crop could skew reporting on the size of the following year’s crop.
Moving the start of the marketing year to August 1st isn’t feasible, as it would create the need for new reports and an increase in the department’s budget to accommodate additional reporting is unlikely.
One USDA official conceded frustration, saying, “It’s a difficult problem, and we’re still working on it, and we’re not happy with the end result yet.”
