Hops, cherries and maple syrup lower or mixed; rice, corn and oilseeds see modest adjustments

Anthony Pryleman presented NASS first forecasts for hops, cherries and maple syrup: hops acres strung for harvest at 41,600 (slightly down and the lowest since 2014 for the three-state total Idaho/Oregon/Washington); sweet cherry production forecast 311,000 tons (down ~17% year-on-year; Washington down ~23%); tart cherries forecast at about 91 million pounds (down ~36%; frost damage cited in Michigan and Utah). Maple syrup production was estimated at nearly 5.9 million gallons (up 3.1% from last season), with Vermont supplying roughly 47% (~3.1 million gallons) and New York at a record high.

Dr. Mark Jakenowski summarized smaller monthly adjustments across many other commodity balance sheets. For rice, he cited a 2-million-ton upward revision for India based on official data, with modest U.S. import and export trims that raised U.S. ending stocks. Corn adjustments reflected southern-hemisphere harvest changes (Argentina +2 mt, Brazil +3 mt, Mexico −0.7 mt) and a large India production increase affecting carry-in stocks; U.S. corn exports were raised and ethanol use trimmed slightly. Soybean changes were generally small (Argentina back-year +2 mt; small reductions in Uruguay and Russia in some forecasts). The EU rapeseed crop was described as tricky — early dryness followed by May rains — producing a small reduction in EU rapeseed output.

Mark also reported modest cotton and sugar adjustments (beet production +217,000 short tons; cane +37,000 short tons) and reviewed livestock/dairy motions: lower 2026 beef production (slower slaughter), broiler production up ~230 million pounds for 2026, and an all-milk price reduction for 2026 (about $0.55 per hundredweight) tied to product price shifts.

These observations were presented as agency forecasts and technical balance-sheet updates; NASS and the board pointed users to the published tables for the official record.