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(AP) -- The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reduced its forecast for the corn harvest in Iowa and across the country.

The Des Moines Register reports that the USDA on Tuesday cut the projected Iowa harvest from 169 bushels per acre last month to 167 bushels per acre.

Last year, Iowa farmers averaged 182 bushels per acre.

Iowa's total corn production is estimated at 2.2 billion bushels.

Last year, it was 2.4 billion bushels.

Nationally, the USDA reduced the crop forecast by 1 percent to 12.5 billion bushels.

The nation's carryover of surplus corn is 827 million bushels.

That's the lowest level since 1995.

Iowa's soybean production is expected to climb to 512 million bushels this year.

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