DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Farmers are expected to grow a record corn crop this year, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimating the crop at 14.4 billion bushels. That's 214 million bushels higher than the previous record in the 2014 growing season.
In the USDA initial estimates for the new crop year, the agency says corn farmers are expected to plant 93.6 million acres, or about 5.6 million acres more than last year.
If farmers harvest as much as expected, the nation's corn stockpile will reach the highest level since the mid-1980s at 2.2 billion bushels.
Soybean production is expected at 3.8 billion bushels, down 129 million from last year's crop.
Wheat is projected at nearly 2 billion bushels, down 3 percent from a year ago.