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USDA sees 13.7B bushel corn crop, 4 percent less than 2014

Ag/Outdoor, News

August 12th, 2015 by Ric Hanson

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers are expected to produce 13.7 billion bushels of corn this year, down 4 percent from last year’s record. It will be the third highest annual production on record in the U.S. Farmers are expected to harvest 81.1 million acres, down 2 percent from a year ago.

The USDA monthly crop update released Wednesday says Iowa, the nation’s top corn producer, expects to harvest 2.43 billion bushels, up 2.8 percent from 2014. Nebraska’s corn production will increase 3.8 percent to 1.66 billion bushels. Illinois corn production will fall nearly 15 percent.

Soybean production is forecast at 3.92 billion bushels, down 1 percent from last year. Production will drop 2.5 percent in Illinois, the nation’s leader. Iowa production will increase 2 percent.