U.S. corn yields headed for 5-year low

Bruce Blythe, Business Editor - Drovers

U.S. farmers may see their lowest corn yields in five years, according to some analyst estimates, after extreme Midwest heat in recent weeks hit crops during the crucial pollination stage.

This year’s corn harvest is expected to produce nationwide yields averaging 150 bushels an acre, Commodity Weather Group, LLC, a Bethesda, Md.-based consultant, said in an Aug. 2 report. That’s 5.5 percent below the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current estimate, 158.7 bushels an acre, and would be the lowest yield since the crop averaged 149.1 bushels in 2006.

Commodity Weather Group analysts are among many who believe the USDA will downsize its crop outlook after a wet, cold spring delayed fieldwork and a recent bout of temperatures near or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit wave cooked corn fields across the Midwest. The USDA’s Crop Production report Aug. 11 is widely expected to reflect.... Finish this Article