Corn yield down, production slips in September's forecast

As of September 2011, U.S. corn production in 2011/12 is forecast at 12.5 billion bushels, down 417 million from last month and only 50 million bushels above 2010/11, despite a 4.6-percent increase in planted area. Based on September 1 conditions, the national average corn yield is forecast at 148.1 bushels per acre, down 4.9 bushels from the August forecast and 4.7 bushels per acre below the 2010/11 yield. The current yield forecast for 2011/12 is 16.6 bushels below the 2009/10 record and would be the lowest yield since 2005/06. Despite this lower yield, production is forecast to be the third highest ever, with the second highest planted area since 1944. This chart may be found in the Corn topic on the ERS website, updated September 2011.