In the US, a record grain harvest is causing a growing shortage of storage capacity

This year, US farmers are expected to harvest a record crop of 21.5 billion bushels of corn, soybeans and sorghum, but grain elevators and traders are facing limited storage capacity, making it difficult to process the crop efficiently, Agdaily.com reports.

According to CoBank's Knowledge Exchange, this year's storage capacity will be extremely limited, and grain traders will be forced to charge higher fees due to limited capacity and strained infrastructure.

“The challenge for elevators will be prioritizing limited grain storage capacity. About 12 of the top U.S. corn-producing states are facing a 1.4 billion bushel (≈ 35.7 million tons) shortfall in vertical storage capacity this year as elevators rely more on bunkers and emergency storage, such as ground stacks. This year’s shortage is in sharp contrast to last year, when these states had a 361 million bushel (≈ 9.2 million tons) surplus,” said Tanner Emke, CoBank’s grains and oilseeds economist.

He said U.S. soybean exports are significantly lower than in previous years, with sales down 51%. At the same time, strong demand for corn and wheat is allowing U.S. grain elevators to focus on those crops and plan their limited capacity more effectively.