Weather hurts corn; beans, cotton doing better

WASHINGTON -- Hot, dry weather in August damaged the nation's corn crop, dropping the estimated harvest to the lowest in four years, but the government is predicting bumper crops of soybeans, cotton and other commodities.

Farmers will harvest 9.24 billion bushels of corn, down 7 percent from last year and the lowest production since 1997's 9.21 billion, the Agriculture Department said Friday in its monthly reports on U.S. crop conditions and world commodity supplies. The projected yield of 133.5 bushels per acre also would be the lowest in four years.

The soybean harvest is expected to reach a record 2.83 billion bushels, 2 percent over last year's record and 1 percent below last month's estimate. Yields are expected to average 38.2 bushels per acre, slightly higher than last year.

The department does not expect large changes in the prices of either commodity. The projected price was raised 5 cents for both crops to an average $2.15 per bushel for corn and $4.90 for soybeans.

Cotton production is expected to reach 20 million bales, up 16 percent from last year. A bale weighs 480 pounds. USDA is barred by law from projecting cotton prices.

The department had bad news for rice farmers, projecting a dramatic drop in rice prices to an average of $4 per hundred pounds, down $1.10 from last month's estimate and $1.56 below last year's price.

Total rice supplies are at record levels, and this year's harvest is 8 percent higher than last year's, at a time when U.S. consumption is falling.

This year's wheat harvest is estimated at 1.99 billion bushels, up slightly from the August forecast but 10 percent below last year. Over the past several years, farmers have been switching from wheat to soybeans and other crops that have proven more lucrative.