Area USDA crop production reports

South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS (AP) — South Dakota’s soybean crop is forecast at a record-high 220 million bushels, up 18 percent from last year.

The Agriculture Department’s crop production report shows an estimated 5.11 million acres of soybeans, a 12 percent increase from a year ago. Average yield is forecast at 43 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushes from 2013.

The report estimates corn to be up less than 1 percent and dry edible beans to be up 9 percent from a year ago.

Sunflower production is forecast at 251,000 hundredweight, up 9 percent from 2013.

North Dakota

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s soybean crop is forecast at a record-high 195 million bushels, up 38 percent from last year.

The Agriculture Department’s crop production report shows an estimated 5.90 million acres of soybeans, a 27 percent increase from a year ago. Average yield is forecast at 33 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushes from 2013.

The report estimates sunflower production to be up 81 percent from last year, canola to be up 28 percent, and dry edible beans ahead of last year by 27 percent.

The sugar beet production is forecast at 5.06 million tons, 11 percent below last year’s crop.

Minnesota

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota farmers are still expected to harvest more corn than last year, but not quite as much as the government forecast a month ago.

Updated estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday project Minnesota’s corn crop at 1.33 billion bushels. That’s up 2 percent from last year but down 2 percent from the USDA’s September forecast. Yields are expected to average 170 bushels per acre, up 10 from 2013 but unchanged from last month’s forecast.

Minnesota soybean production is forecast at 305 million bushels, up 10 percent from last year but 2 percent below the September forecast. The soybean yield forecast is unchanged at 42 bushels per acre.

The projections are based on conditions as of Oct. 1 and don’t reflect frost and other weather effects since then.