USDA forecasts record production in 2016

Aug 15, 2016

Corn and soybean farmers expected to have bountiful harvest

By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com

If corn and soybean farmers keep up their current production, it will be a record harvest for both crops, the USDA reports.

According to the Department of Agriculture, growers are expected to increase corn production by 11 per cent from 2015.

“U.S. corn production is forecast at 15.2 billion bushels,” the USDA said. “Average corn yield is forecast at 175.1 bushels per acre, setting a new record high.”

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service predicts record yields in 10 of the largest corn-producing states, including Iowa, Illinois and Nebraska.

The USDA expects soybeans to follow suit and have a record yield of its own.

“Soybean growers are expected to harvest 4.06 billion bushels in 2016,” the Department said. “Soybean yields are expected to average 48.9 bushels per acre, reaching another record-high mark.”

The USDA expects record soybean yields from Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Wisconsin.

Not to be outdone, winter wheat is expected to have a successful harvest.

“Growers are expected to harvest 1.66 billion bushels of winter wheat this year, up 21 per cent from 2015,” said the USDA.

The total U.S. wheat yield is forecasted at 52.6 bushels per acre, up nine bushels from 2015.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.