Although slightly lower than previous projections, last week’s crop yield report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture is a far cry from the worst-case scenarios many farmers braced for earlier this summer as a withering drought took hold of much of America’s prime farmland. USDA expects corn yields to come in at 122.8 bushels per acre, or about 0.6 bushels less than its August prediction. Despite the downward adjustment, the projections paint a much rosier picture than the 110 bushels per acre many farmers feared they would get at the height of the drought.

Department of Economics grain Extension economist Chad Hart adds his perspective in an ISU News Service article written by Fred Love. Read the full article at: http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2012/09/18/harvest2012