USDA Predicts Another Large US Corn Crop This Year

The U.S. corn crop is expected to continue getting larger as farmers produce less wheat and soybeans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday.

The USDA, in its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, predicted U.S. corn production will reach 13.37 billion bushels in 2010. That's up from the 13.11 billion produced last year and up from the earlier forecast for this year of 13.16 billion that the USDA made in February during its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum.

More planting this year by farmers outweighed an expected decline in yields when USDA made this latest forecast for corn production, the department said Tuesday.

The new average yield expected this year is 163.5 bushels per acre, down from last year's record-setting 164.7 bushels/acre, the USDA said.

Along with the bigger crop this year, domestic use and exports will also be stronger. But ending stocks are also expected to be a bit higher than last year. The new forecast for 2010-11 marketing year ending stocks is 1.818 billion bushels, up from last year's 1.738 billion bushels.

Corn going to ethanol this year--part of the USDA's domestic use calculation--should total 4.6 billion bushels, the USDA said. That's up from 4.4 billion bushels that went into the fuel last year.

"Exports are projected up 3% with larger supplies and lower prices," the USDA said Tuesday, "but rising foreign feed grain supplies--mostly corn--will limit [U.S.] export growth in 2010-11."

The USDA is now predicting U.S. corn exports will be 2 billion bushels for 2010-11, up from 1.95 billion bushels in 2009-10.

Meanwhile, the USDA on Tuesday lowered its estimate for U.S. corn production from the 2009-10 marketing year after late government surveys were completed of harvested area and yields for North Dakota and South Dakota. The surveys, which USDA said a month ago it needed to do because of the late harvest in the two states, pushed the 2009-10 production estimate down to 13.11 billion bushels, down from 13.131 billion bushels.

Source: CME Group with reference to USDA