The United States is now anticipating its second-largest corn crop ever!
The 15.2 billion bushel crop expected by USDA is quite a bit bigger than the markets were anticipating. Following the reports projecting a national average of 184 bushels per acre, market prices for corn slipped by a whole penny a bushel.
USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyer says that some farmers are even expecting to see better numbers than that.
According to Meyer, “We’re still talking record corn yields in Iowa, 212 bushels an acre across the entire state. Illinois 22 bushels an acre, Indiana 210 bushels an acre across the entire state, and Nebraska 195 bushels average across the entire state. Those are all record yields across that strip of land there.”
There are of course several factors to keep in mind.
A Wyffels Hybrids agronomist has several recommendations on what growers should look for this year, beginning with crop development.
He says that this year’s long planting window will leave fields uneven, and early rainfall could spark nitrogen deficiency concerns.
Plants low in nitrogen are also more susceptible to disease. Finally, he says that corn APHIDS were worse this year than any he has seen.
