Corn, Soybean Harvest Moving
Ahead Of Schedule, Says USDA

WASHINGTON —(AP)— Ideal October weather allowed corn and soybean farmers to harvest their enormous crops at a faster pace than normal, the U.S. Agriculture Department reported Monday.

Farmers have already brought in 75 percent of the corn, compared with an average of 64 percent over the past five years. And 89 percent of soybeans have been harvested, about four percentage points above the five-year average.

USDA's corn production forecast for November was 9.36 billion bushels, less than one percent above the October prediction and the third-largest crop on record.

The soybean projection remained steady at 2.74 billion bushels, easily a new record.

The harvest was progressing so rapidly that farmers encountered storage shortages in many parts of the country, aggravated in the Midwest by delays in delivery of rail cars at elevators of up to 30 days.

Projected corn prices were down this month to between $2.45 and $2.85 per bushel, caused in part by a 100 million-bushel drop in expected exports due to increased foreign competition. Last year's price was $2.70 a bushel.

Soybean prices, on the other hand, were raised to between $5.90 and $6.90 a bushel as estimated reserves were reduced to 255 million bushels and farmers rushed the crop to market to take advantage of already strong prices. Last year's soybean price was $7.38 a bushel.

Corn yields on a per-acre basis were expected to average 126.4 bushels per acre. For soybeans, the per-acre yield was 39.2 bushels.

The cotton forecast was 18.8 million bales, a two percent rise from the October prediction and slightly down from last year. Although the cotton harvest is the fourth largest ever, per-acre yields were down 34 pounds at 673 pounds.

The pace of the cotton harvest has varied widely, depending on the weather. In parts of the Southeast, heavy rains last month delayed the harvest while in Louisiana 98 percent of the crop was in.

The average farm price for cotton was pegged at 68.5 cents per pound, down slightly from last year.

Sorghum was forecast at 659 million bushels, one percent lower than the October estimate and 18 percent below the 1996 crop. Farmers planted 20 percent less of the crop this year.

Sorghum prices were down at between $2.15 and $2.55 a bushel.

Also Monday, the Agriculture Department reported that warm weather allowed planting of the winter wheat crop to progress rapidly in much of the nation, particularly Kansas, Oklahoma and Oregon. About 90 percent of winter wheat is in the ground and three-quarters was rated as good or excellent.

An early-season blizzard in the Plains actually helped the crop, which is harvested in spring and early summer, by bringing needed moisture.

Overall wheat prices were up at between $3.40 and $3.70 per bushel.