ROCHESTER, Minnesota, Aug 23 (Reuters) — The U.S. soybean harvest will be even bigger than the U.S. government’s record forecast, advisory service Pro Farmer said last week, though it forecast a smaller corn crop than what the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects.
Near-perfect growing weather in most areas of the world’s top corn exporter and No. 2 soybean exporter boosted bets on big crops, keeping futures prices of both commodities near four-year lows. The lower cost of growing soy versus corn, floods in some areas and a timely winter wheat harvest encouraged farmers to plant more soybeans than last year.
Pro Farmer forecast a soybean harvest of 4.740 billion bushels, which would be about six per cent above the 2021 record and more than the 4.589 billion bu. forecast by the agriculture department. The tour forecast an average soybean yield of 54.9 bu. an acre, after surveying seven states over the past week.
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For corn, Pro Farmer estimated a crop of 14.979 billion bu., less than the 15.147 billion seen by the USDA, but a crop that would still be the fourth-largest ever. The tour forecast an average yield of 181.1 bu. an acre.
The four-day tour projected above-average corn yields for six of the seven corn belt states surveyed, except for Minnesota.
“The eastern corn belt was phenomenal. I will never forget this crop year,” said Brian Grete, editor of Pro Farmer and leader of the tour’s eastern leg.
