USDA forecasted higher average yields for cotton, rice and soybeans in its Oct. 11 Crop Production report, and lowered average yield for corn once again. Several Mid-South states are projecting record rice yield.

Rice

U.S. rice production in 2012-13 is forecast at 198.9 million hundredweight, up 2.5 million hundredweight from last month. The increase is entirely due to higher yield. The average all rice yield is a record at 7,428 pounds per acre, up 94 pounds from last month. Yields were raised in all states but Missouri. Record yields are forecast for Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Total rice exports are projected at 100 million hundredweight, unchanged from last month. Rice ending stocks are projected at 32.4 million hundredweight, up 1.5 million from last month.

Cotton

USDA bumped cotton production by 178,000 bales from last month, to 17.3 million bales, due mainly to yield increases in the Mississippi Delta states. U.S. ending stocks were raised by 300,000 bales.

Domestic mill use is unchanged, but exports were reduced based on lower forecast imports by China.  A combination of sharply higher production and reduced consumption led to a projected increase in 2012-13 world ending stocks of 2.6 million bales.

Corn

Forecast corn production for 2012-13 was lowered 21 million bushels with higher area more than offset by lower yields. U.S. corn yield was forecast at 122 bushels per acre, down 0.8 bushels from the previous month.

U.S. corn use for 2012-13 was lowered, including a 100-million-bushel reduction in projected exports due to the slow pace of sales to date and strong competition from Brazil. Corn ending stocks for 2012-13 are projected 114 million bushels lower at 619 million bushels.

Global 2012-13 corn exports were lowered 1.1 million tons this month.

Soybeans

U.S. soybean production is forecast at 2.86 billion bushels, up 226 million based on higher harvested area and yield. Harvested area is raised 1.1 million acres to 75.7 million.

Soybean yield is projected at 37.8 bushels per acre, up 2.5 bushels. Soybean supplies for 2012-13 are projected 10 percent above last month on both increased production and beginning stocks.

Soybean ending stocks are projected at 130 million bushels, up 15 million from last month. Global soybean production is projected at 264.3 million tons, up 6.2 million mostly due to an increase for the United States.

Peanuts

U.S. peanut production is estimated at 6.1 billion pounds. Average yield is projected at 3,832 pounds, an increase of 118 pounds over last month. Georgia expects to harvest a little over 3 billion pounds.