WASHINGTON — U.S. 2013 corn production was estimated at a record 13,925,147,000 bus, down slightly from 13,988,720,000 bus in November but up 29% from 10,780,296,000 bus in 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its annual Crop Production 2013 Summary on Jan. 10, 2014. Soybean production was estimated at 3,288,833,000 bus, up 1% from 3,257,746,000 bus in November, up 8% from 3,033,581,000 bus in 2012 and the third highest on record.
The U.S.D.A. corn production number was below the average of pre-report trade estimates of 14,053 million bus but for soybeans was above the trade average of 3,270 million bus.
Corn futures prices rallied about 10c a bu shortly after the report while soybean futures traded mostly higher.
Average corn yield was estimated at 158.8 bus an acre, down 1.6 bus from November but up 35.4 bus from 123.4 bus an acre as the final 2012 average yield. Harvested area was estimated at 87,668,000 acres, up from 87,232,000 acres in November and from 87,375,000 acres in 2012.
Soybean yield was estimated at 43.3 bus an acre, up 0.3 bu from November and up 3.5 bus from 39.8 bus an acre in 2012. Harvested area was estimated at 75,869,000 acres, up from 75,688,000 acres in November but down slightly from 76,164,000 acres in 2012.
The U.S.D.A. yield number for corn was below the average trade forecast of 161.1 bus an acre but for soybeans was slightly above the trade average of 43.2 bus.
Grain sorghum production in 2013 was estimated at 389,046,000 bus, down 6% from November but up 58% from 246,932,000 bus in 2012.
U.S. 2013 rice production was estimated at 189,886,000 cwts, up 1% from the prior estimate but down 5% from 199,546,000 cwts in 2012.