CHICAGO, Aug 5 (Reuters) – Private analytics firm Informa Economics raised its U.S. 2014 corn production forecast to 13.988 billion bushels, from 13.731 billion in July, but left its soybean production estimates unchanged from last month, the firm said in a note to clients on Tuesday.
Informa, based in Memphis, Tennessee, estimated the U.S. corn yield at 168.0 bushels per acre, up from 165 in July. The figures compare to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s current outlook for a 13.860 billion-bushel crop with a yield of 165.3 bushels per acre.
Informa’s forecasts are among the more conservative outlooks this year. Other forecasters put the corn crop at more than 14 billion bu.
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Informa forecast this year’s U.S. soybean production at 3.700 billion bushels with an average yield of 44.5 bushels per acre, unchanged from its July forecast and below the USDA’s current production estimate of 3.8 billion bushels.
The USDA will release updated crop estimates on Aug. 12.
Informa forecast 2014 U.S. all-wheat production at 1.986 billion bu., slightly above its July outlook for 1.960 billion. The firm pegged hard red winter wheat output at 699 million bu., below its previous forecast for 702 million.
Informa estimated soft red winter wheat production at 463 million bu. and production of spring wheat other than durum at 562 million.
On the global front, Informa raised its forecast of Russian’s 2014-15 wheat production to 56.0 million tonnes, up 3.5 million from its previous forecast. The USDA currently estimates Russian’s wheat crop at 53 million tonnes.
