RICHMOND, Va. (AP) _ The latest Virginia crop report forecasts gains in soybean, cotton and peanut production. But corn production is expected to be down compared to 2013. The report says 49.7 million bushels of corn are expected to be produced this year. That’s down 10 percent from 2013. Corn producers are expected to harvest 350,000 acres, a decline of 10,000 acres from last year. Peanut production is expected to be 76 million pounds, up 20 percent from 2013. Cotton and soybean production also is up. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services says the forecasts are based on conditions as of Nov. 1. The source is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
