Forecast Still Calls For Bumper Crop This Year

Des Moines Register:

U.S. farmers are poised to harvest record corn and soybean crops this fall if favorable growing conditions remain in place for the next several weeks, the government said Friday.
The Agriculture Department lowered its estimate of corn production this fall to 13.86 billion bushels, a decline of 75 million bushels from its June estimate, after reducing how many acres it expects to be harvested. But some market watchers expect that USDA's record corn yield forecast of 165.3 bushels per acre could be boosted after it surveys fields ahead of its August report, pushing the season's total harvest to an all-time high. The current corn harvest is just shy of the record high of 13.93 billion bushels in 2013.
"Favorable early July crop conditions and weather support an outlook for record yields across most of the Corn Belt, however, for much of the crop, the critical pollination period will be during middle and late July," USDA said in its monthly report looking at crop supply and demand.
USDA said Monday 75 percent of the U.S. corn crop and 72 percent of its soybeans were rated good to excellent, with the crops slightly ahead of schedule. In Iowa, 76 percent of corn and 73 percent of soybeans were classified as good to excellent.
"I think if they bump that yield (in August), you could see a record crop," said Tomm Pfitzenmaier, an analyst at Summit Commodity Brokerage in Des Moines. He speculated the USDA could increase corn yields to between 168-170 bushels per acre.

If we get a crop like this, next year will be very interesting.  Prices will be in the dumps.  So far here, our early corn on our better drained soils look awesome, while our later corn on the poorly drained soils are showing some stress.  Some of our later fields are coming into tassel, so a little more rain, and the corn crop will be made.  It should be a very good year, yield-wise.