U.S. farmers are expected to produce the largest corn crop in history this year, according to a crop production report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Corn production is forecast at 13.1 billion bushels, 10.6 percent above the previous record of 11.8 billion bushels set in 2004.

Based on conditions as of Aug. 1, corn yields are expected to average 152.8 bushels per acre, up 3.7 bushels from last year. This would be the second-highest corn yield on record, behind the 160.4 bushels per acre produced in 2004. Growers are expected to harvest 85.4 million acres of corn for grain, the most since 1933 and 14.8 million more acres than last year.

Yield forecasts are higher than last year across the Great Plains, central Corn Belt and Delta. Meanwhile, hot, dry conditions led to lower expected yields across much of the northern and eastern Corn Belt, Ohio Valley, Tennessee Valley, Southeast and Atlantic Coast.

NASS’s crop production forecasts are based on both farm operator surveys and actual field counts conducted among a statistically selected sample between July 23 and Aug. 6.