USDA boosts corn, soybean harvest to new records
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Corn farmers are expected to harvest nearly 14.4 billion bushels of corn, up from last year’s 13.9 billion bushel record. The yield of 172 bushels per acre is significantly higher than the previous record set in 2009 of 165 bushels per acre.
Record yields will be set in 18 states, the USDA said, and 10 states including Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska, the top three producers, have the highest number of ears per corn stalk ever.
A massive harvest has been expected this year as adequate rain and cool temperatures made for favorable growing conditions. The expectations have driven corn and soybean prices significantly lower, but that isn’t expected to make much of a short-time difference in consumer food prices. However, since the grains are staples in livestock feed, lower prices could eventually lead to a decline in the cost of beef…
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