Bumper corn and soyabean crops are expected in the United States this fall but the harvests will likely fall short of records projected by the US government, according to estimates released on Friday from farm advisory service Pro Farmer at the end of its annual Midwest crop tour. Pro Farmer predicted that average corn yields will be 170.2 bushels per acre, or enough to produce a record 14.728 billion-bushel crop, at the end of a four-day tour of seven major production states in the Midwest.
But the figures were short of the US Agriculture Department's latest forecast of 15.153 billion bushels on a yield of 175.1 bushels per acre. Pro Farmer projected soyabean production at a record 4.093 billion bushels, based on an average yield of 49.3 bushels per acre, above USDA's August outlook for a 4.060-billion-bushel harvest with an average yield of 48.9 bushels per acre.
"With a normal finish to the growing season, the soyabean crop stands to benefit more from weather than corn," Pro Farmer said in a statement, citing recent rains in the Corn Belt. "Much of the corn crop is too advanced in maturity to benefit much if late-season weather is favourable." The annual tour's results are widely viewed as a landmark assessment of the US corn crop as it makes field-level observations across states that account for roughly 70 percent of national production.
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