The U.S. Agricultural Department predicts families could see some relief from high food prices this year.

USDA officials say corn production will reach a record 14.8 billion bushels this year. That's about 2.4 billion bushels more than last year.

"We're looking at the largest corn crop this country has ever produced and larger than the previous record by over 1½ billion bushels," Chad Hart, grain market specialist and economic professor at Iowa State University, told The Associated Press.

"We're looking at the potential for just a true bin-buster of a crop," Hart predicted. "There's going to be a lot of corn flying around here."

The agency also said an early planting season means there will be a larger surplus at the end of the summer.