In early August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted record-high corn production this year at 13.8 billion bushels for the 2013 crop year.
The forecast was 28 percent more than last year, when droughts damaged area corn crops.
Yet with continued hot weather over the past few weeks, estimates for corn yield are expected to decline.
Below, one Central Illinois farmer explains the ins and outs of estimating corn yields.
Type of work:
Darrell Hoemann sold his first photo to a newspaper at age 15 and was published in the St. Louis (MO) Globe-Democrat. A 1974 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Hoemann began... More by Darrell Hoemann, Investigate Midwest
Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, Fund for Investigative Journalism, Gary Marx Journalism Fund, Arnold Ventures, Kirkpatrick Foundation, Lumpkin Family Foundation, Pulitzer Center for Crisis Reporting, Builders Initiative
