U.S. corn production may be 24 percent smaller than the government’s estimate as drought in the Midwest slashes yields and spurs farmers to abandon acres, Farm Futures magazine said, citing a survey of 1,800 growers.
The corn harvest may plunge to 9.86 billion bushels this year, below the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current projection of 12.97 billion bushels and 33 percent less than the government’s June forecast for a record 14.79 billion, Farm Futures said today in an e-mailed statement. The USDA is scheduled to update its estimates Aug. 10.
“The scope of this year’s drought is difficult to comprehend, both in its intensity and coverage,” Arlan Suderman, a market analyst at Farm Futures, said in the statement. “The market clearly has more work to do as it attempts to bring demand into balance with the shorter supply.”
