Crop forecast: soybeans up, corn down

The latest crop forecast projects Minnesota farmers will see a bigger soybean yield, but the outlook for corn has dimmed a bit.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture predicts Minnesota's soybean fields will average 46 bushels an acre, a two bushel increase from last month's outlook. If the prediction holds, state farmers would harvest nearly 341 million bushels of soybeans, a record.

The corn outlook has declined slightly. The U.S.D.A. trimmed the predicted corn yield by a bushel an acre. Minnesota farmers now are expected to harvest 1.24 billion bushels, just under last year's record.

The state's sugar beet harvest is estimated at 28 tons per acre. That's up 18 percent from last year's crop.

Corn, soybeans and sugar beets represent a combined 80 percent of Minnesota's $10 billion crop production.

Nationally, the U.S.D.A. cut 2.5 bushels off the expected yield, because of weather problems in states like Illinois and Indiana. The agency though increased the U.S. soybean estimate slightly, up 0.7 bushels.

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