Government looks for near-record Ohio corn crop

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — The government’s latest estimate looks for a near-record corn harvest from Ohio farmers, despite harsh spring weather that got this year’s crop in the ground late.

Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Corn Growers Association, says the U.S. Department of Agriculture now expects the state’s farmers to produce 532 million bushels of corn, an average yield of 165 bushels per acre.

The state’s largest corn crop on record was 541 million bushels, an average of 150 bushels per acre, in 2007.

Siekman says Ohio farmers made up for the lost time during planting season through technology that allows them to produce more corn per acre.

He adds that mild weather during the growing season also helped this year’s crop.