Midwest Awaits Bumper Corn Crop

Ideal growing weather wipes out flood fears
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 13, 2008 8:19 AM CDT
Midwest Awaits Bumper Corn Crop
A mountain of 75,000 bushels of corn at a grain facility in Texas.   (AP Photo/Temple Daily Telegram, Scott Gaulin)

America's farmers are on track to deliver the second-biggest corn harvest ever despite June floods, according to the Department of Agriculture. Shortages were predicted after severe flooding swamped fields, but the Midwest has had ideal corn-growing weather since, the New York Times reports. A healthy soybean crop is also expected.

“We dodged a bullet,” said a grains analyst. Corn futures have fallen back from the record-breaking levels that many had feared could ruin livestock producers. Farmers are not counting their grain before it's harvested, however. Some say government figures are on the optimistic side and warn that an early frost could still hit yields hard.
(More corn stories.)

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