March 11, 2010

USDA lowers 2009-10 corn output estimates on new surveys

The USDA on Wednesday (March 10) lowered its projection for 2009-10 corn crop by 20 million bushels based on results of new surveys carried out in several states.

The new estimate for the 2009-10 marketing year corn crop is 13.131 billion bushels, down from USDA's previous projection of 13.151 billion bushels, according to the monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.

The USDA said in January it would resurvey farmers in several states due to an abnormally late harvest, which left significant unharvested acreage of corn.

More surveys have yet to be completed for the 2009-10 crop, and those could have an impact on overall production, the USDA said Wednesday.