ELDORA -- The nation's farmers are poised to harvest record soybean and near-record corn crops despite weather problems in the central Corn Belt.

Rain delayed planting for some producers, and a cool July slowed crop development for all. Summer hail storms also destroyed or severely damaged more than 600,000 acres of crops in Northeast Iowa.

Yet Wednesday's U.S. Department of Agriculture Crop Production Report for August estimates the nation's soybean harvest will be the largest ever at nearly 3.2 billion bushels. Yields are expected to average 41.1 bushels per acre.

Corn production nationwide is pegged at about 12.8 billion bushels, averaging 159.5 bushels per acre. If realized, both will be the second highest on record behind 2007's record for total production and 2004's record for average per acre.

Adequate soil moisture and mild temperatures during the critical pollination period spurred the optimistic report. There are 80 million acres of corn and nearly 77 million acres of soybeans in the country. Crop experts say problems in Northeast Iowa -- while devastating to some -- won't significantly impact overall production.

"The processors are not worried about supply in the least," said John Sanow, a market analyst with DTN. "Other areas are looking at tremendous yields."

Iowa farmers are expected to harvest 2.47 billion bushels of corn, averaging 185 bushels per acre. Both would be records.

Soybeans statewide are expected to average 52 bushels per acre, totaling 506 million bushels. This would tie for the second largest yield and be the third largest crop in the state's history.

"Any time you have a long fill period with lots of moisture, you'll have record crops," said Dave Wiemers, head of the Garst seed corn production facility in Coon Rapids.

The USDA predicts corn prices will range from $3.10 to $3.90 per bushel and soybeans from $8.40 to $10.40 per bushel during the upcoming marketing year.

Though future export and domestic demand looks good, Sanow said farmers should be looking for marketing opportunities now -- especially given the large crop.

"If producers can lock in a profit, they should start pulling the trigger on sales," Sanow said.

Production estimates are based on Aug. 1 field surveys.

"There's still a long ways to go. Even with a normal frost date, that will hurt some (fields)," Sanow added.

Gov. Chet Culver and Sen. Tom Harkin both recently asked U.S. Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack via letters to declare 23 Iowa counties agriculture disaster areas. Crops have been destroyed or significantly injured by hail and flooding, the requests said.

The affected counties in Northeast Iowa include Allamakee, Bremer, Buchanan, Butler, Chickasaw, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette, Howard and Winneshiek. Hardin County fields were shredded by hail on Sunday. State officials said a separate disaster request will be submitted for that area once damage assessments are complete.

"Standing out among the damage to farms of all kinds is the storm's damage to the many dairy producers in the region who are already reeling from a precipitous decline in milk prices. It is of critical importance that federal assistance be made available to these struggling producers," Harkin wrote in the letter.

If approved, a disaster declaration would make emergency low-interest loans and the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance program available to farmers.