USDA April Feed Outlook: Strong Ethanol Production Reduces Amount of Corn Used For Feed

Increasing use of corn for ethanol should boost the amount of barley used for feed, according to the April USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) report on the outlook for feed.

Feed prices are also expected to remain high, as availability and implied demand are projected to be lower.

Meanwhile, fuel ethanol projections are raised 25 million bushels from the March World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

According to Grain Crushings and Co-Product Production report by the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), corn use for fuel ethanol production totaled 2,689 million bushels from September 2021 through February 2022.

The six-month total represents a 10% increase from 2020/21.

While not as strong as they were during the fall, the U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) weekly production figures show that ethanol production rates remain robust, despite increasing gasoline prices and relatively lower driving rates.

The report also contains a special article U.S. Ethanol Market 2021 Summary and Focus on Operating Margins.

For the full report, click here.