ST. LOUIS (AP) – A U.S. government report says the nation’s corn growers should have banner production this year despite lesser acreage devoted to the grain. But corn prices later in the year may suffer a bit. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released Friday its first World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report of the year. The report estimates that corn producers will harvest 165.3 bushels of corn per acre, up 6.5 bushels from the previous year. Corn acreage is expected to slip to 91.7 million acres, from 95.4 million acres.

The report is the USDA’s best guess of agricultural expectations, and weather events might dramatically change the forecasts. The season-average price for corn was forecast lower, ranging from $3.85 and $4.55 per bushel. It was $4.50 to $4.80 a year earlier.