USDA corn crop estimates up over 2011
The USDA estimates the 2012 Minnesota corn crop at 1.27 billion bushels, slightly better than last year's production.
Although the average yield for Minnesota is projected at 155 bushels an acre, a one-bushel decrease from last year, Minnesota is expected to produce a record overall corn crop because farmers are harvesting more fields this year.
On the soybean side, the agriculture department estimates the state's farmers will harvest about 263 million bushels, a slight decrease from last year.
Nationally, the USDA slashed the forecast for both the nation's corn and soybean harvests from last year, corn at 10.8 billion bushels and soybeans at 2.69 billion bushels.
Wide-spread drought and extreme temperatures have sharply reduced the nation's corn harvest. The price of corn has jumped nearly 40 percent in the last two months, from about $5.50- to more than $8 a bushel.
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