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Corn, soybeans remain on road for record year

 

By DOUG SCHMITZ

Iowa Correspondent

 

NEWBURG, Md. — If the latest estimates remain steady through the remainder of 2014, U.S. corn and soybean growers are heading toward a record-breaking bumper crop and the biggest production year posted, according to the USDA’s Nov. 10 Crop Production report. Corn production is expected to reach 14.4 billion bushels this year, up 3 percent from 2013, while national soybean production is forecast at 3.96 billion bushels, up 18 percent. "With two record crops in a row, corn farmers are seeing prices below the cost of production," said Chip Bowling, president of the National Corn Growers Assoc. (NCGA) and a Maryland corn grower. "This is exactly the reason NCGA pushed reforms in the last farm bill: So we would have a market-based safety net when needed."

Based on conditions as of Nov. 1, the report stated yields for corn are expected to average 173.4 bushels per acre, down 0.8 bushel from the October forecast, but 14.6 bushels above the 2013 average. As for soybeans, the report stated yields are expected to average a record high 47.5 bushels per acre, up 0.4 bushel from October and up 3.5 from last year.

As the nation’s top corn producer, Iowa’s crop is forecast at a record high 2.42 billion bushels, with yields expected to average 183 bushels per acre, an increase of 18 from last year but down 2 from the October forecast. In addition, Iowa soybean production is forecast at 514 million bushels, a 22 percent increase from the previous year, with yields of 52 bushels per acre. This is up 6.5 bushels from 2013, and 1 above the October forecast. If realized, this would be the state’s second-largest soybean crop on record, 2 percent under the record set in 2005.

"In my area, soybean harvest is going full steam and yields are looking good right now, but harvest isn’t over," said Tom Oswald, president of the Iowa Soybean Assoc. and a Cleghorn farmer. "The report numbers released today are really just a snapshot in time and it will be interesting to see where we are at when harvest is all said and done. There are many international factors that affect what we see for soybean prices and they matter, given we’re in a global marketplace."

In Illinois, corn production is forecast at 2.34 billion bushels, 11 percent above the previous year, with the yield at 200 bushels. Moreover, Illinois soybean production is forecast at 552 million bushels, also a record high, if realized, with yields forecast at 56 bushels. In Kentucky, the USDA is predicting corn at 222 million bushels, with yields estimated at 153 bushels per acre, unchanged from last month and down 17 from the 2013 level. Soybean production is forecast at 84 million bushels, with yields estimated at 48 bushels, up 1 from last month and down 2 from a year ago.

In Michigan, corn is forecast at 14.4 billion bushels, down slightly from the previous forecast but up 3 percent from 2013, with yields decreasing 1 bushel from last month to 166. Soybean production is forecast at a record 3.96 billion bushels, with yields expected to average a record high 47.5 bushels, up 0.4 from last month and up 3.5 from last year. In Ohio, corn production is expected to be 616 million bushels, down 7 percent from 2013, with yields down 1 bushel from the October report to 177 per acre, tying the 2013 record. In addition, the state’s soybean production is expected to total 244.5 million bushels, a state record, with yields forecast at 50 bushels – also a state record.

In Tennessee, corn production is forecast at 135 million bushels, up 3 percent from the October forecast, with yields estimated at 165 bushels per acre. Soybean production is forecast at 75.8 million bushels, down 2 percent from the October forecast and up 5 percent from 2013, with yields estimated at 48 bushels, down 1 from last month and up 1.5 from a year ago.

11/19/2014