Nebraska corn yields, production stay on track for second-largest crop

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's latest crop production estimate left Nebraska's corn yield  estimate unchanged from last month at 160 bushels per acre. Total production was lowered marginally to 1.52 billion bushels due to 150,000 fewer planted and harvested acres.

If realized it would be the second largest crop in the state's history and just off the record 1.58 billion bushels produced in 2009.

Yields last year reached 166 bushels per acre and total corn production was 1.47 billion bushels.

As for crop progress, USDA said yesterday that Nebraska farmers had harvested 19 percent of the state's corn crop as of Oct. 9. That figure is nearly even with with 20 percent five-year average but is off from last year's 27 percent harvested at this point.

USDA said 33 percent of the corn crop has been harvested across the country, which is 1 point ahead of average but 17 points behind last year's blistering pace.

Nationally, USDA forecast corn production at 12.43 billion bushels, down 1 percent from last month and just a hair below last year's 12.45. If realized, though, it will still be the fourth largest production total on record.

USDA left its yield estimated the same as last month – 148.1 bushels per acre. It did drop harvested acres, though, to 83.9 million, down 1 percent from the September forecast.

In it's WASDE report (.pdf) today, USDA raised beginning stocks for 2011/12 by 208 million bushels from last month based on its September stocks estimate. Corn supplies for 2011/12 were forecast 144 million bushels higher. Total U.S. corn use for 2011/12 was projected 50 million bushels lower due to reduced exports – there's more global competition from the Black Sea region.

The bottom line: U.S. ending stocks were projected 194 million bushels higher at 866 million and the season-average farm price moved 30 cents per bushel lower on both ends of the range to $6.20 to $7.20 per bushel.

This week's photos come from the Nebraska Corn Board's 2011 crop progress photo set at Flickr. The top one is from the Howells-Clarkson FFA Chapter and the bottom one is from the Sumner Eddyville Miller (SEM) FFA Chapter.