USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) on Aug. 22 revised its 2019 prevented planting total to 19,559,775 acres, up from the Aug. 1 estimate of 19,259,925 acres. The prevented planting total for corn was raised to 11,394,703 acres, up from 11,210,627 acres on Aug. 1, while the soybean prevented planting total climbed to 4,451,712 acres, up from 4,350,704 acres on Aug. 1.
Increases in prevented planting acreage were also reported for cotton, barley, oats, rice, sorghum, and wheat. The 2019 total shatters the previous prevented planting record set in 2011, which was just shy of 10 million acres for the eight principle crops.
FSA said it published the Aug. 22 update “due to the large amount of questions” raised by the difference between the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Aug. 12 planted acreage estimates and FSA’s prevented plantings estimates released on the same day (GM Aug. 16, p. 1). FSA said it plans to release updated prevented planting estimates on Sept. 12, Oct. 10, Nov. 8, and Dec. 10.