August corn for ethanol surpasses expectations.

USDA reported August corn for ethanol usage at 473 million bushels. This was +7.0% from last year. It brings the year's total up to 5.471 billion. This is just over USDA's newly raised view of 5.465. This positive news is already included in Monday's positive Grain Stocks report.

Increased usage this past year was in part due to a less efficient grind. The fall 2023 corn harvest, used through August 2024, had a production efficiency of 2.93 gallons per bushel used. That was -1.1% from the prior year. By quarter efficiency was -1.0% in Q1, -1.6% in Q2, -1.3% in Q3 and -1.3% in Q4. It will be a few months before we can discuss the quality of this new crop fall 2024 harvest efficiency numbers.

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