Wichita ? With harvest well under way, the government revised upward Friday its monthly production forecast to anticipate even more bountiful fall crops than previously expected in Kansas.

Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service predicted the state’s corn harvest would total 493.2 million bushels. The agency’s new forecast, based on Oct. 1 crop conditions, is 7 percent higher than a month ago.

The corn harvest now is expected to be 43 percent bigger than last year’s crop. Helping feed the increase: Kansas farmers, bolstered by high corn prices amid a booming ethanol market, planted 20 percent more acres of corn for this season.

Kansas growers now are harvesting those 3.6 million acres and recording far better yields than a year ago. Crop yields now are forecast to be an average 137 bushels per acre, as harvesters rake in 22 more bushels per acre than they were getting in 2006, Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported.

Nationwide, the government this year is forecasting the most corn acres to harvested for grain since 1933, and for yields to be the second highest on record. The nation’s corn grain production is forecast at 13.3 billion bushels, or about 26 percent more than a year ago.

The outlook for other fall crops in Kansas:

¢ Soybeans: Production is forecast at 85 million bushels, which would be down 14 percent from last year’s crop. Kansas farmers seeded fewer acres into soybeans this season; planted acreage was down 19 percent from a year ago as more farmers switched to other crops. But those who planted soybeans are getting yields that average 34 bushels per acre, or about 2 bushels more per acre than a year ago.

¢ Milo: Production is pegged at 205.4 million bushels, up 42 percent from a year ago. Yields are expected to average 79 bushels per acre, cut off the 2.8 million acres of sorghum in the state.

¢ Sunflowers: Production is expected to total 278.1 million pounds, up 65 percent from last year. The state had 164,000 acres of sunflowers, up 25,000 acres from last year. Yields are forecast to average 1,696 pounds per acre, up 487 pounds per acre from last year.