date:May 16, 2013
158 bushels an acre, a record, from 123.4 bushels in 2012, boosting output from an estimated 10.78 billion bushels last year, the USDA said. The government in February projected a crop of 14.53 billion, based on 96.5 million planted acres and an average yield of 163.6 bushels. The department lowered its estimate because of slow planting caused by cold, wet weather in the main U.S. growing regions, it said.
In each of the past three years, USDA forecasts for record crops proved wrong because of