CHICAGO, May 12 (Reuters) - U.S. farmers will harvest their second-largest soybean crop on record this autumn while corn production is expected to drop 6% from last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Tuesday, as crop production costs have soared due to the Iran war.

The USDA pegged the 2026 U.S. soybean harvest at 4.435 billion bushels, up from 4.262 billion bushels last year, but below the average trade estimate of 4.445 billion.

Corn production was forecast to decline to 15.995 billion bushels from a record 17.021 billion bushels last year. The estimate was above the average analyst estimate of 15.934 billion bushels.