(Reuters) – Crop forecaster Lanworth on Wednesday lowered its expectations for world corn and soybean production due to wet weather in key growing areas of the United States that caused it to reduce yield expectations.
Lanworth said it expects 2013/14 world corn production of 957 million tonnes and soybean production of 284 million tonnes, down from its earlier forecasts for 961 million tonnes and 286 million tonnes, respectively.
For wheat, the forecaster trimmed its global production view for the 2013/14 crop year to 693 million tonnes from 694 million.
In the United States, Lanworth said it expects corn production of 13.65 billion bushels, down from its last forecast of 13.8 billion. It lowered its U.S. soybean harvest estimate to 3.35 billion bushels from 3.4 billion.
The firm’s U.S. corn yield forecasts were cut to 156.7 bushels per acre from 158.8 bushels per acre and its U.S. soybean yield outlook was lowered to 43.3 bushels per acre from 43.8 bushels per acre.
The reduced yield expectations were based on heavy rain during planting and early development periods for crops in Illinois, Iowa, southern Minnesota and North Dakota.
“Such conditions disproportionately limit yield potential under optimal (cool) weather conditions, should they occur,” Lanworth said in a report. “Weather outlooks for the second half of June, if realized, will set April-June temperatures over U.S. productions areas near the historical low and total precipitation near the historical high.”
Lanworth is a brand of Thomson Reuters Commodities Research and Forecasts. A Lanworth spokesman said the reported estimates are the midpoints of confidence ranges.
