10/08/04, CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--The size of the new U.S. soybean crop isexpected to be raised Thursday in the U.S. Department of Agriculture'smonthly supply and demand report to 2.965 billion bushels with a yield of40.2 bushels per acre, up from 2.940 billion and 39.9 bushels,respectively, in the previous report, according to a survey of industryanalysts.The USDA's August supply and demand report is scheduled for release at0730 CT (1230 GMT) on Thursday.In the survey, estimates on soybean production ranged from 2.881billion to 3.042 billion bushels, and estimates on yield ranged from 39.2to 41.3 bushels.Industry analysts agreed that new-crop production will be the keyfeature in this report, as it will reflect the first government survey ofthe crop. Unlike last year, the crop thus far has experienced cool anddamp weather as opposed to hot and dry conditions, which stunted thegrowth of the 2003-04 crop.Because of the non-threatening conditions seen so far in the growingseason, industry analysts are anticipating the figure to approach the 3billion-bushel mark."Last year, the crop looked good, smelled good, tasted good, and endedup being no good. It's not delayed like it was last year," said StewartRamsey, senior economist at Global Insight at Eddystone, Pa.Last year's crop was measured at a paltry 2.418 billion bushels.