CHICAGO (Dow Jones) — Private analytical firm Informa Economics Friday said it expects the U.S. Department of Agriculture to raise its forecasts for this year's U.S. corn and soybean crops, according to traders.
Informa said it expects the USDA, in a monthly supply-and-demand report due Thursday, to forecast a national corn yield of 127.0 bushels an acre and total production of 11.194 billion bushels, according to traders.
Informa's corn-yield estimate was higher than forecasts issued by some other private firms this week. On Tuesday, brokerage INTL FCStone predicted an average corn yield of 123.9 bushels an acre.
Informa said it expects the USDA to forecast national soybean production of 2.860 billion bushels with a yield of 37.8 bushels an acre, traders said.
The production and yield estimates were up from September estimates of corn production at 11.093 billion, using a yield of 126.6 bushels an acre, and soy output at 2.663 billion, using a yield of 35.2.
In September, USDA put the U.S. corn crop at 10.727 billion bushels, using a 122.8 bushel an acre yield, and soybean output at 2.634 billion, using a 35.3 bushel an acre yield.
Analysts have raised their forecasts for the corn and soybean harvests based on the latest Farm Service Agency certified acreage data, that increased corn and soybean planted acreage above USDA's June estimates.
Continued anecdotal reports that soybean yields aren't as poor as initially feared following a historic drought and views that crops in some regions benefited from rains that picked up in August are leading to higher crop forecasts as well.
INTL FCStone Tuesday raised its yield forecast for the soybean crop to 38.2 bushels an acre, from its forecast last month of 36.7 bushels an acre.
Source: DTN
Posted by Russell Nemetz
