CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — Private analysts have dropped their forecasts for U.S. corn and soybean production, accounting for heat and dry weather this summer.
U.S. crop forecaster Lanworth has pegged 2011 U.S. corn production at 12.022 billion bushels and yield at 143.3 bu. per acre.
That is significantly below other private forecasts, which peg the yield at 148 bu. per acre, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which forecasts 12.914 billion bu. on an average yield of 153 bu.
Commodity brokerage firm Intl FC Stone also lowered its corn estimate, dropping it to 146.3 bu. per acre, down 4.5 percent from its previous estimate of 153.2 bu.
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It put the corn harvest at 12.350 billion bu., down five percent from its Aug. 2 forecast of 13.002 billion.
Lanworth’s corn production number was plus or minus 251 million bu. and the yield was plus or minus three bu. per acre, trade sources said.
Officials at Lanworth, a unit of Thomson Reuters, declined to comment on the company’s estimates.
U.S. corn and soybean futures closed higher in reaction to Lanworth’s crop estimates, which were released Sept. 2.
The corn production forecast compares with Lanworth’s outlook in early August for 12.889 billion bu. and yield at 153.5 bu. per acre.
The company forecast U.S. soybean production at 2.969 billion bu., plus or minus 88 million, and soybean yields at 40 bu. per acre, plus or minus 1.2 bu.
Lanworth’s forecast in early August was for soybean production at 3.126 billion bu. and yield at 42.1 bu. per acre.
The USDA’s current forecast is for soybean production at 3.056 billion. The department will release updated crop production estimates on Sept. 12.
