Despite Slight Drop For Missouri, USDA Projects Double-Digit Jump For National Corn Harvest

Even amid the prospect of increased silage and prevented plant acres, corn production in the U.S. is projected to rise ten percent this fall.  That’s according to the first monthly forecast released Friday by USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service for the season, which is projecting a total haul of 15.1 billion bushels of corn.  While trade analysts were expecting an even higher yield, USDA’s prediction of 175.1bushels per acre is still up 1.8 bushels from a year ago.  Predicted harvested acreage remains at 86.3 million acres.  Drought has taken its toll on the Missouri corn crop, as even with a 12-percent increase in acreage at 3.48 million acres, production is projected to slide 0.9 percent to 497.6 million bushels.  Yield is down 18 bushels per acre from a year ago to 143.

With the swing to corn acres in full effect, other major rowcrops are projected to have smaller harvests this season.  Soybean production is pegged at 4.21 billion bushels, down two percent from a year ago.  Yield is projected to rise 1.4 bushels at 50.9 bushels per acre.  Harvested acreage could be down four percent from a year ago at 82.7 million acres, unchanged from June’s projection.  Missouri’s production is predicted to fall 9.5 percent to 249.75 million bushels.  While yield is predicted to slip a half bushel to 45 bushels per acre, harvested acreage is down 8.5 percent at 5.55 million acres.

Updated wheat harvest projections have this year’s haul up five percent at 1.73 billion bushels, down slightly from July.  Yield was downgraded to 45.8 bushels per acre, while harvested area is slightly higher from July at 37.9 million acres, now a year-over-year gain of seven percent.  Production and acreage across Missouri are still projected to surge significantly, as harvest of 41.6 million would be up 69 percent from last year if realized.  Harvested acreage remains at 640,000 acres, up 230,000 from last year.  Yield was raised another bushel to 65 bushels per acre, up five from a year ago.

Cotton production is slated to decline three percent to 14 million bales.  Yields could tumble 18 percent to 779 pounds per acre, or 1.62 bales.  The tumbling yield more than offsets the 18-percent increase in harvested acreage, at 8.62 million acres.  Missouri’s cotton production is projected down 14.6 percent to 750,000 bales.  While an extra five thousand acres are projected for harvest at 345,000, yield is down 16 percent at 1043 pounds per acre or 2.17 bales.

Rice production could surpass 20 billion pounds this year, as USDA now projects a 27-percent surge for this year’s output.  The projected harvest of 20.4 billion pounds would be as a result of both an acreage jump to 2.65 million acres along with yield of almost 7700 pounds.  Missouri is predicted to haul in 1.52 billion pounds of rice, with yield eclipsing 8000 pounds per acre and acreage up 51,000 to 190,000 acres.

Oat production is projected to fall 14 percent to 49.45 million bushels.  Yield is down three-point-three acres from a year ago at 61.5, with harvested acres down nine percent to 804,000 acres.  Planted oat acreage in Missouri is down a third to 30,000 acres, with just 7,000 expected to be harvested this fall.