WASHINGTON, DC, US — The US Department of Agriculture, in its Nov. 10 Crop Production report, forecast 2020 US outturn of corn at 14.507 billion bushels, down 1.5% from its October forecast but up 7% from 2019, and of soybeans at 4.170 billion bushels, down 2.3% from October but up 17% from 2019.

Based on conditions as of Nov. 1, the average corn yield in 2020 was forecast at 175.8 bushels an acre, down 2.6 bushels from last month but up 8.3 bushels from 167.5 bushels in 2019. Corn harvested area was forecast at 82.527 million acres, unchanged from October but up 1.5% from 2019.

If realized, corn production and average yield would be the third highest on record, with record outturn of 15.148 billion bushels in 2016 and the second highest of 14.609 billion bushels in 2017.

The average soybean yield was forecast at 50.7 bushels an acre, down 1.2 bushels from October but up 3.3 bushels from 47.4 bushels an acre in 2019. Harvested area was forecast at 82.289 million acres, unchanged from the prior forecast but up 10% from 2019.

If realized, soybean production would be the fourth highest on record, with the highest being 4.428 billion bushels in 2018.

The USDA corn and soybean production and average yields all came in below the averages as well as below the full ranges of pre-report trade expectations.

The bullish corn and soybean production forecasts, coupled with 2020-21 corn and soybean carryover forecast also below trade expectations in the USDA’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report, sent Chicago corn and soybean futures sharply higher on Nov. 10.