(The Wall Street Journal) – Informa pegs U.S. corn production at 14.01 billion bushels — traders
– U.S. soybean output seen at 3.176 billion bushels
– Argentina wheat production outlook lowered by 2.7 million metric tons
Informa Economics, a private forecaster, said U.S. corn and soybean production will be higher than the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated last month due to improved yields for both crops, according to traders.
Informa on Friday forecast corn production this year at 14.01 billion bushels on yields of 158.8 bushels an acre, traders said. Informa pegged soybean production at 3.176 billion bushels on yields of 41.7 bushels per acre.
The Memphis, Tenn.-based firm’s projections for corn production were higher than the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s September forecast of 13.843 billion bushels, and its yield outlook topped the government’s forecast of 155.3 bushels an acre. The corn-output estimates by both Informa and the USDA would rank as all-time records, surpassing the 2009 corn crop that totaled 13.1 billion bushels.
Informa’s soybean output estimate was slightly higher than the 3.149 billion seen by USDA last month and its yield forecast topped the government prediction of 41.2 bushels an acre. The U.S. soybean crop was hit harder than the corn crop by hot, dry weather in parts of the Midwest in August and September.
But as much as six times the normal amount of precipitation fell in parts of western Iowa and the eastern half of Nebraska in the last two weeks of September, according to the National Weather Service, improving yields just before many farmers began harvesting their corn and soybeans.
“Corn ratings, which had been declining since mid-August, improved in late September,” Informa said in the report, according to traders. “Soybean condition has improved in the two most recent [USDA crop-progress] reports so that the crop is now rated equal to the five-year-average rating for this date.”
Informa lowered Argentina’s wheat production by 2.7 million metric tons from its last report, mainly because of reduced plantings and lower yield, traders said. Australian output was lowered by 300,000 tons because of lower-than-normal rainfall in South Australia.
