Farm Futures poll shows 3 mln corn acres lost to flood

A house sits in flood waters on the banks of the Iowa River in Coralville, Iowa June 15, 2008.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - At least 3 million acres of U.S. corn have been lost to rain and floods, according to a poll conducted by Farm Futures magazine.

The poll was conducted online from June 6-13 at FarmFutures.com and the magazine estimated that at least 3.3 million acres could be lost, perhaps more, according to senior editor Bryce Knorr.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last Tuesday estimated 2008 U.S. corn acreage at 86.0 million, down sharply from last year's area of 93.6 million.

USDA's acreage estimate for 2008 was made before the massive rainfall and flooding in the U.S. Midwest. USDA did trim 5 bushels per acre from its forecast corn yield per acre because of the harm to the U.S. crop. USDA will update its acreage estimate on June 30.

USDA's current forecast is for corn yields at 148.8 bushels per acre and a total U.S. 2008 corn crop at 11.735 billion bushels, below last year's record crop of 13.074 billion.

Farm Futures said the results of the online-poll were not scientific, but farmers provided a glimpse at one of the most difficult springs in history for U.S. corn growers.

(Reporting by Sam Nelson; Editing by John Picinich)