U.S. farmers planted 78.9 million acres of soybeans this year, exceeding last year’s planted area by 1.4 million acres, or 2 percent, and setting a new record high, according to the Acreage Report released June 30 by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Aided by favorable weather conditions early in the season, farmers in the Northern Plains, the Western Cornbelt, and the Northeast regions upped their soybean acreage this year. Record-high planted acreage was reported in Kansas, Nebraska, New York, and Pennsylvania, while Minnesota and Oklahoma tied their all-time record highs. Iowa continues to lead all states in total soybean acres with 10.2 million acres.
Compared with last year, soybean acreage increased by 300,000 acres or more in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The states with the largest declines compared with last year are Arkansas, down 270,000 acres, and North Carolina, down 250,000 acres.
U.S. farmers also planted a near record-breaking 87.9 million acres to corn this spring, up 1.4 million acres from last year but down 1 percent from March projections. The report noted that this marks the second consecutive increase in planted acreage to corn and the second highest acreage on record since 1946, behind only 2007.
Illinois and Kansas reported the largest increases in corn acres, with both states planting 600,000 acres above last year. Other notable increases in corn acreage this year were shown in Indiana, up 400,000 acres; Missouri, up 300,000 acres; and Ohio, up 250,000 acres. While Iowa continues to lead the nation with 13.3 million corn acres, the state experienced a decrease of 400,000 acres from 2009, which NASS attributed primarily to the increase in soybean acreage. Nebraska and South Dakota were also down 350,000 acres from the previous year.
The report also shows an increase in cotton acres for the first time since 2006, which NASS attributed in part to advantageous weather and high prices. U.S. farmers planted 10.9 million acres of cotton this year, up 1.8 million acres, or 19.2 percent, from 2009. Increased acreage was widespread throughout most of the Cotton Belt, the report said, with increased planted acres observed in all states except Louisiana, where acres are unchanged from last year’s record low. In Alabama, California, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee, acreage planted to cotton increased by more than 30 percent, with California experiencing the largest percentage gain with a 76 percent increase.
Despite the increases in corn, soybean, and cotton acres, total U.S. crop area is down slightly, decreasing by 0.1 percent, or 360,000 acres, from last year. NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of June on approximately 11,000 segments of land and from a sample of approximately 71,500 farm operators across the U.S.
All wheat planted area in the U.S. is estimated at 54.3 million acres, down 8 percent from 2009, and the lowest U.S. total since 1971. The 2010 winter wheat planted area, at 37.7 million acres, is 13 percent below last year, the report said.
NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report on June 30, showing corn stocks up 1 percent from June 2009, soybean stocks down 4 percent, and all wheat stocks up 48 percent. Despite the increase in corn stocks from this time last year, there was a 3.38 billion bushel disappearance between March and May. This is the highest disappearance on record for corn during this quarter, NASS said.