(Bloomberg) U.S. farmers will harvest less corn and fewer soybeans than last year, based on an analysis of weather and moisture models, crop forecaster AIR Worldwide Corp. said today in a report.

Corn yields will fall to 158.6 bushels an acre from a record 164.7 bushels harvested last year, said AIR Worldwide, a catastrophe-risk modeling company in Boston that accurately predicted in July last year that the U.S. harvest would be the largest ever. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said last week yields would be 163.5 bushels an acre.

Farmers will collect 43 bushels of soybeans per acre this year, down from a record 44 bushels an acre harvested last year, Air Worldwide said. The USDA forecast 42.9 bushels.

AIR said its yield outlook is based on models that analyze accumulated moisture, temperatures, planting dates and the USDA’s weekly crop-condition ratings.

http://bloomberg.com/