* US corn yields, crop down 4 pct, end stocks 902 mln bu
* Corn 2010/11 end stocks smallest in 15 years
* USDA corn, soy forecasts are lower than trade expected
* Record US soybean crop, corn is third largest
WASHINGTON, Oct 8 (Reuters) – Sharply lower yields across the Corn Belt
ean a surprisingly small 12.664 billion-bushel U.S. corn crop — 4 percent
maller than the record forecast a month ago — and the tightest corn supply in
5 years, said the government on Friday.
With a smaller crop, the corn stockpile would shrink to 902 million bushels
y the end of this marketing year, the smallest reserve since 1995/96 and less
han a four-week supply.
The Agriculture Department forecast a record soybean crop of 3.408 billion
ushels, down 2 percent from its September estimate, and cotton crop unchanged
t 18.84 million bales weighing 480 lb (218 kg). At 2.7 million bales, cotton
nd stocks would be smallest since 1995/96
Traders expected a corn estimate of 12.96 billion bushels and soybeans of
.475 billion bushels. USDA’s estimates of corn, soybean and wheat end stocks
lso were lower than expected. Despite the downturn, the U.S. corn crop would
he the third largest on record.
With the harvest in full swing, the Agriculture Department reported a
ownturn in corn yields from Ohio to Nebraska. The U.S. average yield is pegged
t 155.8 bushels, down 4 percent, based on conditions on Oct 1. USDA cut yields
y 14 bushels an acre in Illinois, the No 2 corn state, by 10 bushels an acre
n Iowa, the No 1 state, and by 9 bushels in Nebraska, the No 3 state. The
verage U.S. soybean yield was estimated at a record 44.4 bushels an acre,
lthough down 0.3 bushels from a month ago.
(Reporting by Charles Abbott)
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