The 2007 U.S. corn crop is expected to be the largest in history, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Crop Production Report released last week.
Considering that archeologists estimate corn has been grown domestically since sometime between 4,000 and 3,000 B.C., our farmers' projected record-breaking crop of 13.1 billion bushels should even earn a tip of the cap from Barry Bonds. The 2007 harvest is expected to be 10.6 percent above the previous record of 11.8 billion bushels set in 2004. Corn yields are expected to average 152.8 bushels per acre, up 3.7 bushels from last year.
Most of the record corn crop is expected to come from Great Plains, central Corn Belt and Delta, where growing conditions have been ideal. Lower than normal yields will come from the northern and eastern Corn Belt, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, Southeast and Atlantic Coast, where dry conditions have prevailed.
Based on conditions as of August 1, corn yields are expected to average 152.8 bushels per acre, up 3.7 bushels from last year. This would be second highest corn yield on record, behind the 160.4 bushels per acre produced in 2004. Growers are expected to harvest 85.4 million acres of corn for grain, the most since 1933 and 14.8 million more acres than last year.
In other crops, U.S. cotton production is estimated at 17.3 million 480-pound bales, down 20 percent from last year’s 21.6 million bales. Wheat production, at 2.11 billion bushels, is up 17 percent from 2006, while soybean production at 2.63 billion bushels, will be down 18 percent from last year’s record high of 3.19 billion bushels.
USDA crop production forecasts are based on both farm operator surveys and actual field counts conducted among a statistically selected sample between July 23 and August 6, 2007.
