U.S. soybean yields could exceed 46 bushels an acre for the first time this year, according to separate forecasts. The record, set in 2009, is 44 bushels. Based on current conditions, Commodity Weather Group said yields would average 46.1 bushels an acre, which would mean a record crop of 3.88 billion bushels, said Farm Futures. The news and marketing company said it expects a higher yield – 46.3 bushels an acre, equal to a 3.89 billion-bushel crop – “with potential for 47-plus.” USDA will make its first forecast of the crop on Aug 12.
Soybean fields in northern Iowa and southern Minnesota show high yield potential although crop development is running later than usual, said Doane analysts on a crop tour of the western Corn Belt. “Yield potential was towards 50 bushels (an acre) or a little better” in northern Iowa, they said. For southern Minnesota, “With the benefit of a warm and wet August, the crop has the potential to reach yields in the upper 40s to low 50s perhaps.”