Hurricane Wilma Reduced Fla. Orange Growers Production

Hurricane Wilma darkened the outlook for Florida orange growers, reducing production estimates by 15 percent, the Agriculture Department said.

Still, this year’s crop will outdo last year’s by about 8 percent in Florida, the department said in its monthly crop report.

Wilma entered the state as a Category 3 hurricane and blew through the southern growing region with 125 mph winds. The new Florida orange forecast is 162 million boxes, or 7.29 million tons.

Nationwide, the orange outlook is down 12 percent at 9.44 million tons.

The weather was much better last month in other parts of the southeast, helping speed a cotton harvest expected to be the best ever, with record yields in Georgia, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Cotton production should reach 23.7 million 480-pound bales, the department said. That would surpass last year’s record by 2 percent. Nationwide, the expected yield per acre of 832 pounds would be the second-biggest on record.

There were few changes to the outlook for crops such as wheat, corn and soybeans. However, sagging foreign sales of U.S. corn and soybeans pushed export forecasts down and raised ending stocks.

Wheat prices were forecast at $3.25 to $3.50 per bushel, down 5 cents on the upper end from last month’s estimate. Last year’s average was $3.40.

The price forecast for corn was unchanged from last month at $1.60 to $2 per bushel, compared with $2.06 last year.

Soybean prices were forecast at $5 to $5.70, compared with $4.95 to $5.75 last month and $5.74 last year.

The department said beef prices were up because supplies of choice-grade cattle stayed tight. Not included in the projections was the anticipation that Japan, once the biggest market for U.S. ranchers, may lift its ban this month.