9/17/02

Due to ongoing drought, corn and soybean yields, as expected, are plummetting in the Mid-Atlantic region and the nation.
According to the Sept. 12 report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Maryland farmers are expected to produce 33.2 million bushels of corn, a cut of almost half from last year’s 55.8 million bushels.
Yield is expected to average 78 bushels per acre.
Soybeans are projected to yield an average of 21 bushels per acre, totaling 10.6 million bushels.
In Delaware, farmers are expected to harvest an average of 20 bushels to the acre of soybeans, with a total production of 3.8 million bushels. And, in Virginia, soybean yields are projected to be 23 bushels to the acre, with a total production of 10.5 million bushels.
Delaware farmers are expecting a corn yield of 81 bushels per acre, with a total production of 13 million bushels. Virginia producers are harvesting an average of 73 bushels to the acre of corn, with a total production of 25 million bushels.
Nationally, corn production is forecast at 8.85 billion bushels — the smallest U.S. crop since 1995. Soybean production is expected to be 2.66 billion bushels, the lowest since 1999.