CHICAGO, June 21 (Reuters) - Cropcast on Thursday cut its forecast for the 2012 U.S. corn yield by 3.1 percent from its previous prediction and cut its U.S. soybean crop yield estimate nearly 4.0 percent due to continued dryness across the Midwest crop belt.
The central and southern Midwest, the central Plains and northern Mississippi Delta are the driest, Cropcast said. The area needs rain soon as the bulk of the U.S. corn crop is expected to pollinate starting next week and continue through the first two weeks of July.
"From here on out I think it is going to be an issue of dryness versus heat that is going to knock the yields down," said Don Keeney, senior agricultural meteorologist with Cropcast. "If the dry forecast holds for the next couple weeks, those forecasts will most likely come down."
Cropcast is a division of MDA EarthSat Weather and forecast the average U.S. corn yield at 158.6 bushels per acre, down from its previous estimate of 163.7 and USDA's estimate of 166.
The weather agency reduced its soybean yield estimate to 42.4 bps, from its previous forecast of 44.1 and USDA's outlook of 43.9.
Based on its current yield estimates, Cropcast forecast the U.S. corn crop at 13.971 billion bushels and soybean at 3.145 billion bushels.
USDA is currently estimating this year's U.S. corn crop at a record large 14.790 billion bushels and soybean output at 3.205 billion bushels.
