US corn growers will plant 92 million acres of corn this spring, USDA said in its March 31 Prospective Plantings report. The acreage estimate is up 4%, or 3.42 million acres, from last year, and also up from the 91 million acres that the agency projected at its annual Outlook Forum in February (GM Feb. 24, p. 1).
Driven by lower inputs costs and high commodity prices, corn acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 40 of the 48 estimating states, USDA said, with North Dakota’s crop increasing 800,000 acres from last year. Increases of 150,000 acres or more from last year are also expected in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Minnesota, and South Dakota.
Soybean planted area for 2023 is estimated at 87.5 million acres, up slightly from last year and unchanged from the February estimate. Compared with last year, planted soybean acreage is up or unchanged in 15 of the 29 estimating states, USDA said, with increases of 100,000 acres or more anticipated in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
These soybean acreage increases are balanced by decreases of 100,000 acres or more in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, and Missouri, USDA said. If realized, the planted soybean area in Illinois, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, and Wisconsin will be the largest on record.
All wheat planted area for 2023 is estimated at 49.9 million acres, up 9% from 2022 and slightly higher than USDA’s February projection of 49.5 million acres. The 2023 winter wheat planted area, at 37.5 million acres, is up 13% from last year and up 2% from the previous estimate. Area planted to spring wheat for 2023 is estimated at 10.6 million acres, down 2% from 2022, while durum planted area is expected to total 1.78 million acres, up 9% from last year.
All cotton planted area for 2023 is estimated at 11.3 million acres, down a full 18% from last year, but up from USDA’s February estimate of 10.9 million acres. Upland area is estimated at 11.1 million acres, down 18% from 2022, while American Pima area is estimated at 154,000 acres, down 16% from 2022.
Area planted to rice in 2023 is expected to total 2.58 million acres, up 16% from 2022, with Arkansas expected to increase long grain acres by 14% from last year and California boosting its medium grain rice acreage by 66%. Rice acreage in Texas, by contrast, is expected to be at a record low this year.
USDA also released its quarterly Grain Stocks report, which showed mostly lower inventories of grains as of March 1 versus the same time last year. Corn inventories were reported at 7.4 billion bushels, soybeans at 1.69 billion bushels, and wheat at 946 million bushels, with corn and soybean inventories coming in under analyst projections.