USDA released its Prospective Plantings report on March 30, declaring that U.S. corn growers intend to plant 95.9 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2012, up 4 percent from last year and 9 percent higher than in 2010. If realized, USDA said this will represent the highest planted acreage in the U.S. since 1937, when an estimated 97.2 million acres were planted.
Planted corn acreage is expected to be up in most states compared to last year due to expectations of better net returns in 2012 compared to other commodities, USDA said. Record corn acreage is expected in Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, while acreage is expected to decrease in the central and southern Great Plains, which experienced severe drought and above-normal temperatures in 2011.
Soybean planted area for 2012 is estimated at 73.9 million acres, USDA said, down 1 percent from last year and down 5 percent from 2010. Compared with 2011, soybean planted area is down or unchanged across the Corn Belt and Great Plains, with the exceptions of Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
Compared with last year, soybean planted acreage intentions are down in many areas as some acreage is expected to shift to corn, USDA said. Additionally, soybean acreage intentions in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas are down from 2011 due to drought conditions that have continued from last year into early March. If realized, the soybean planted area in New York and North Dakota will be the largest on record, and the planted area in Pennsylvania will tie the previous record, USDA said.
All wheat planted area is estimated at 55.9 million acres, up 3 percent from 2011. The 2012 winter wheat planted area, at 41.7 million acres, is up 3 percent from last year, but down 1 percent from the previous estimate. Nationally, more winter wheat acres were seeded this year due to higher prices and acreage rebounds in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, where dry conditions had limited 2011 planted acres. If realized, planted winter wheat acres will be record highs in North Carolina and North Dakota, but record low winter wheat planted acreage is expected in Nebraska and Ohio.
Area planted to other spring wheat for 2012, including hard red spring wheat and durum, is estimated at 12.0 million acres, down 3 percent from 2011. Growers intend to plant 5.95 million acres of sorghum in 2012, up 9 percent from last year. If realized, Oklahoma sorghum acreage will represent a record low this year, while Texas acreage is expected to be up from a record low last year. Kansas and Texas are the leading sorghum-producing states and account for 76 percent of the expected U.S. acreage. As of March 25, Texas growers had planted 31 percent of their sorghum crop, USDA noted, 13 percentage points behind last year and 5 points behind the five-year average.
All cotton planted area for 2012 is expected to total 13.2 million acres, USDA reported, 11 percent below last year. Upland acreage is expected to total 12.9 million acres, down 11 percent from 2011. American Pima acreage is expected to total 270,000 acres, down 12 percent from 2011.
USDA noted that field preparation for cotton is taking place in the Southeast, while planting is underway in southern Texas and Arizona. Heavy precipitation in the Delta Region has delayed fieldwork in some areas and eased the drought in Louisiana. A mild winter in some cotton growing areas has producers bracing for potentially higher than normal insect and weed pressure, USDA said.
Area planted to rice in 2012 is expected to total 2.56 million acres, down 5 percent from 2011 and the lowest planted acreage since 1987. USDA attributed the lower acreage to higher prices for competing commodities and poor export demand. Area planted to rice in Arkansas, the largest rice producing state, is expected to drop to its lowest level since 1989. In California, where water supply