We examine empirically the impact of scheduled USDA information releases on uncertainty and sentiment in grains and oil-seeds markets. We document that, for up to five trading days after the release of a scheduled USDA report (WASDE, stocks, prospective plantings, and acreage), agricultural...

We investigate forward-looking commodity price volatility expectations (proxied by option-implied volatilities or IVols) around scheduled US Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports. We show that corn and soybean IVols are significantly lower for several trading days after a report. The IVol...

We document that the stock prices of food-sector firms react to USDA news. The economic and statistical significance of the effect depends on the commodity, type of scheduled USDA report, and direction and extent to which the USDA information surprises the market. Individual stock price...