Corn Prices Rise as USDA Trims Crop Forecast;
Corn prices rose Monday after the U.S. Department of Agriculture cut its forecast for the size of this fall's crop, though the harvest would still be the nation's largest ever.</br></br>Corn futures climbed 1.3% after the government said the corn crop will total 13.8 billion bushels. That is down 1.3% from the USDA's estimate last month but would easily break the record of 13.1 billion bushels set in 2009.</br></br>The government trimmed its production estimate because it expects lower yields than it had projected last month. The USDA didn't explain why but noted that its yield estimate was the first of the season based on surveys of farmers and field inspections. It trimmed projected yields to 154.4 bushels an acre, from 156.5 last month.</br></br>The report surprised analysts, who largely expected that favorable weather this summer would lead the USDA to increase its production forecast.</br></br>"Not many people were expecting the corn yield to be cut," said Jim Gerlach, president of A/C Trading Co., a Fowler, Ind., commodities brokerage. Analysts on average were looking for a yield of about 157.7 bushels an acre.