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Record Crops Forecast for Corn, Soybeans : Agriculture: The government predicts a stunning rebound from 1993’s floods and drought.

From Associated Press

The nation’s farmers are posting a stunning recovery from last year’s floods and drought, harvesting record crops of corn and soybeans.

The U.S. Agriculture Department on Wednesday forecast the corn harvest at 9.6 billion bushels and soybeans at 2.46 billion bushels. Nearly ideal weather throughout the Midwest caused both crops to mature early and stay hardy.

The bumper crops will knock down prices received by farmers, raising the prospect of higher government spending to maintain farm income.

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But the bulging bins should have no major effect on consumer prices, because raw goods make up such a small part of retail prices. By keeping a lid on animal feed costs, the heavy harvest should hold down already-low meat prices, said Paul T. Prentice, president of Farm Sector Economics in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Despite the gloomier price picture, some growers are pleased at the bounty.

“It gives you a good feeling to know you’ve got a good crop out there,” said Scott Durbin, who grows corn and soybeans on 750 acres near Owaneco in south-central Illinois. “It may not be worth what you’d like for it to be, but at least, by golly, you’re going to have a crop out there to harvest.”

Durbin was reporting some corn yields in excess of 200 bushels an acre and soybeans at 50 bushels or more.

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Yields like that in a major growing state such as Illinois helped push the nation’s forecast yields to a record 133.8 bushels of corn per acre and 40.5 bushels for soybeans.

In parts of the Corn Belt, some grain was already being piled on the ground because elevators are full to bursting, said Rod Gangwish, a Shelton, Neb., farmer and president of the National Corn Growers Assn.

But the self-professed optimist says it’s often better to have more to sell cheap than too little at a higher price.

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Wednesday’s report, based on Oct. 1 field conditions, marks the second straight month the department has raised its forecast. Harvest is still under way for both crops.

The previous record corn crop was 9.48 billion bushels in 1992. For soybeans, the record was 2.26 billion bushels in 1979.

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