YIELD FORECAST HIGHER

August weather provides boost

Based on a September 1 yield survey conducted by the Ohio Agricultural Statistics Service, Ohio corn and soybean yields are forecasted higher than they were the previous month, due to beneficial August rains.

Ohio's average corn yield is forecast at 141 bushels per acre, up six bushels from the August 1 forecast, but 17 bushels below last years record State yield of 158 bushels per acre. Total corn production in the Buckeye State is expected to total 454 million bushels. Nearly an 8 percent drop from the previous year. Growers expect to harvest 3.22 million acres for grain in 2005, compared to 3.11 million harvested the previous year.

Ohio's average soybean yield is forecast at 44 bushels per acre, up two bushels from the August 1 forecast, but three bushels below the State's 2004 average yield of 47 bushels per acre. If realized, this yield would result in a total production of 194.9 million bushels, a 6 percent decrease from the previous year. The State's soybean growers expect to harvest 4.43 million acres in 2005 compared to 4.42 million in 2004.