CHICAGO, Sept 4 (Reuters) - This year's U.S. corn harvest was estimated at 10.326 billion bushels in an annual producer survey by research and brokerage firm Allendale Inc, which is down 4.2 percent from the latest U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast.
The survey, released on Tuesday and based on responses from farmers in 32 states, put the corn yield at 118.2 bushels per acre (bpa), also 4.2 percent below USDA's Aug. 10 figure of 123.4 bpa.
The Allendale survey's corn figures also fell below the consensus estimate of 11 analysts surveyed by Reuters on Aug. 22, which put the corn crop at 10.46 billion bushels with an average yield of 121.5 bpa. (Full Story)
Allendale's survey projected U.S. soybean production at 2.602 billion bushels, down 3.3 percent from USDA's forecast and below the last Reuters analyst poll. The survey forecast a soy yield of 34.9 bpa.
USDA on Aug. 10 projected the U.S. soybean harvest at 2.692 billion bushels with an average yield of 36.1 bpa.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters on Aug. 22 pegged the soybean crop at 2.713 billion bushels with an average yield of 36.6 bpa.
Editors of the Pro Farmer newsletter, following a week-long crop tour, on Aug. 24 estimated U.S. corn production at 10.478 billion bushels with a yield of 120.25 bpa. Pro Farmer pegged the soybean crop at 2.60 billion bushels with a yield of 34.8 bpa. (Full Story)
Allendale's survey used USDA's latest harvested acreage estimates of 87.4 million acres for corn and 74.6 million acres for soybeans. Allendale did not release the number of participants in the survey, which was conducted from Aug. 20-31.
In Allendale's survey producer price expectations for corn ranged from $7.35 to $8.85 per bushel and for soybeans $15.35 to $18.25 per bushel.
At the Chicago Board of Trade as of 10:13 a.m. CDT (1513 GMT), benchmark December corn futures CZ2 were trading at $8.13-1/2 per bushel. New-crop November soybean futures SX2 were trading at $17.81 per bushel after setting a life-of-contract high at $17.89.
