ST. LOUIS (AP) – The federal government says U.S. corn growers could end up with their lowest average yield in 17 years as the drought continues to take its toll.
The U.S. Agriculture Department is slashing its projected U.S. corn production to 10.8 billion bushels. That’s down from its forecast last month of close to 13 billion bushels and 13 percent
lower than last year. That also would be the lowest production since 2006.
The USDA says it expects corn growers to average 123.4 bushels per acre, down 24 bushels from last year. That would be the lowest average yield since 1995.
Soybean production is now forecast at 2.69 billion bushels, a 12 percent decline from last year. Expected yields on average of 36.1 bushels per acre would be the lowest since 2003.
Northwest Iowa Counties Added To Drought Disaster Declaration List
(Washington) — The U-S Department of Agriculture has added four more Iowa counties to the drought disaster declaration list. Those counties include : Woodbury, Lyon, Sioux, and Plymouth. Farmers have the opportunity to qualify for disaster assistance and low interest loans.
Woodbury County Conservation To Accept Bids For Haying Grasslands
(Sioux City) — The Woodbury County Conservation Board announced that it will accept competitive signed bids to hay multiple parcels of county grassland located in several conservation areas. The total acreage open to haying represents no more than 200 acres and less than four percent of the public lands managed by the Conservation Board. Bids will be accepted for individual areas ranging from 13 to 110 acres and must be submitted to the Dorthy Pecaut Nature Center by 3:00 p.m. Friday, August 17th. Federal disaster guidelines for haying will be in effect, and maps of specific parcels open to haying will be provided to the successful bidders. Executive Director Rick Schneider says that the haying must be completed by August 31st and all bales removed from county lands by September 15th.
Drought Worsens
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The latest U.S. drought map shows conditions getting worse in Iowa and Nebraska.
The area of Iowa in extreme or exceptional drought — the two worst categories — has more than doubled, from about 31 percent last week to more than 69 percent as of Tuesday. More than 91
percent of Nebraska is in the two worst categories.
The weekly map shows the amount of the U.S. mired in drought conditions dropped a little more than 1 percentage point, to just over 78 percent. But the area in the worst drought classifications has risen nearly 2 percentage points to more than 24 percent.
That’s because key farm states didn’t get as much benefit from rains as elsewhere on the heels of hot July temperatures that federal scientists say broke a record set during the Dust Bowl of
the 1930s.
Crop Analysist Anticipates Negative Crop Report
(Ames) — Due to the severity of the summer drought, all eyes will be focused on the first initial crop production report to be issued Friday morning by the U-S Department of Agriculture. Farmers and commodity traders alike, are interested in knowing what will be the production yield numbers released by the USDA. Chad Hart is an agricultural economist with Iowa State University and he serves as the grain marketing specialist. Hart says analysists are expecting the corn yield to average 127 bushels per acre and the soybean yield to average 35 bushels per acre. He says any numbers that are not close to that prediction will significantly affect the grain market prices.
Hart says export markets have been watching the drought very closely. He says South America may be able to benefit from the high commodity prices and possibly take over some of the United States’ markets. The ISU ag economist says Friday’s report will be gigantic since it is the first official objective look at this year’s crop.
