USDA forecasts higher corn yields than last year in the northern and eastern Corn Belt, Ohio and Tennessee valleys and the northern half of the Atlantic Coast as a result of better rains. Expected yields across the southern Great Plains and the Carolinas are below last year due to drought-like conditions for much of the growing season, USDA said.

A larger corn yield was expected based on USDA’s crop ratings. The U.S. corn crop rating had improved to 66% good/excellent as of Aug. 3, up from 62% a month earlier and 53% a year earlier.

USDA made some changes in its corn and soybean acreage estimates after resurveying about 9,000 farmers in Midwestern states affected by June flooding to better ascertain their crop intentions.

USDA lowered its estimate of corn-planted acreage by about 350,000 acres to 86.98 million, but raised its expectations for harvested acreage by about 190,000 acres to 79.29 million.

Soybean plantings were raised by about 280,000 acres to 74.78 million acres, while soybean harvested acreage was raised significantly to 73.34 million acres from a previous estimate of 72.12 million acres.

Editor’s note: Richard Brock, The Corn & Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.