In its crop production report released last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast record corn and soybean crops for U.S. farmers.

Corn production is forecast at 15.1 billion bushels, up 11 percent from last year but down slightly from the September forecast. Based on conditions as of Oct. 1, yields are expected to average 173.4 bushels per acre, down 1 bushel from the September...