In what may have been a surprise to some in the trade, the USDA stuck with tradition in its crop projections last week. Yield estimates for the new corn and soybean crops were the trend projections used at the February Outlook Forum. For corn, the USDA projected a 176 bushel per acre (bpa) yield and for soybeans 49.5 bpa .

The wheat yield estimate (48.6 bushels per acre) was a little higher than projected in...