U.S. corn production, slashed dramatically by drought in 2012,
could rebound to a record-large crop this year if yields improve
moderately, said an agricultural economist from Texas A&M
University on Monday. The economist, David Anderson, also said
pork production could top beef in 2014, pushing beef into third
place in U.S. meat production. Poultry and pork production are
on the rise while beef is held back by high feed costs and
drought-damaged grassland. "What we're trying to do is make it
to the next crop," Anderson said, describing how livestock
producers face several more months, at a minimum, of tight feed
supplies. High commodity prices will encourage farmers to plant
roughly as much corn as last year, he said, and with higher
yields, "you get a record crop," with lower prices that will
ease the financial squeeze on livestock producers. During a
presentation at the annual American Farm Bureau Federation
meeting, Anderson said corn plantings were likely to match the
97 million acres of 2012 and yields