U.S. corn acreage is expected to total 88.8 million acres this year, up 3 percent from 2009 acreage, according to the USDA Prospective Plantings Report released March 31. Soybean acreage will be up less than 1 percent, to 78.1 million acres. Wheat acreage will be down 9 percent to 53.8 million acres, while cotton will be up 15 percent to 10.5 million acres.
USDA said it expects the total area planted to principal crops nationwide to hold steady at 319.5 million acres in 2010, after declining 5.7 million acres in 2009.
Corn acreage will be up in many states due to reduced winter wheat plantings and expectations of improved net returns, USDA said. The largest increases are expected in Illinois and Kansas, both up 600,000 acres from last year. Ohio and Missouri corn acreage is expected to be up 350,000 and 300,000 acres, respectively. The largest declines are expected in Iowa, down 200,000 acres; Texas, down 150,000 acres; and Louisiana, down 100,000 acres.
If the projected 78.1 million-acre soybean crop is realized, USDA said it will be the largest U.S. crop on record. The increases in planted area are expected across the Great Plains and most of the Cornbelt, with acreage increases of 100,000 or more projected in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. The largest increases are expected in Iowa and Kansas, up 300,000 and 400,000 acres from last year, respectively. If intentions are realized, USDA said the planted soybean acreage in Kansas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania will be the largest on record for those states.
Soybean acreage will decline or remain the same across the Delta and Southeastern region, USDA said, with decreases of more than 100,000 acres expected in Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. The largest decreases are expected in Georgia and North Carolina, both 150,000 acres less than 2009.
The 2010 winter wheat planted area, at 37.7 million acres, is 13 percent below last year and the lowest U.S. total since 1970, with record low acreages estimated in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio. States with significant winter wheat acreage increases from the previous estimate were Nebraska and Texas, up 100,000 and 200,000 acres, respectively. Of the total, about 28.3 million acres are hard red, 6 million acres are soft red, and 3.4 million acres are white winter wheat.
Area planted to other spring wheat for 2010 is estimated at 13.9 million acres, up 5 percent from 2009, with 13.3 million acres representing hard red spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2010 is estimated at 2.22 million acres, down 13 percent from 2009. The 2010 sorghum crop is estimated at 6.36 million acres, down 4 percent from 2009. The largest decline in sorghum acreage is expected in Texas, where farmers intend to plant 300,000 acres less than 2009.
USDA said the 2010 cotton acreage increase to 10.5 million acres was spurred by higher cotton prices over the last few months, and will be realized through increased plantings in all cotton-producing states except Arkansas, Kansas, and Louisiana. The largest acreage increase is in Texas, USDA noted, where producers intend to plant 600,000 more acres of upland cotton than in 2009.
Area planted to rice in 2010 is expected to total 3.41 million acres, up 9 percent from 2009. USDA said the increase will be realized in all rice-producing states, and is driven primarily by the higher price of rice compared with other commodities such as corn and soybeans. Growers in Arkansas, the largest rice-producing state, intend to plant 1.63 million acres, up 10 percent from last year, while California growers intend to plant 600,000 acres to rice, an increase of 7 percent from last year. Rice acreage in Louisiana is expected to total 510,000 acres, USDA said, up 9 percent from 2009.
As for other crops, USDA said the 2010 U.S. oat crop is estimated at 3.36 million acres, down 1 percent from 2009 and the second-lowest planted acreage on record. Barley producers intend to plant 3.27 million acres in 2010, down 8 percent from 2009 and the lowest barley planted acreage on record, well below the previous record low of 3.45 million acres in 2006. Peanut growers intend to plant 1.20 million acres in 2010, up 8 percent from 2009, with acreage increases expected in the Southeast and decreases likely in the Southwest.
Sunflower growers intend to plant a total of 2.18 million acres in 2010, up 7 percent from last year but down 13 percent from 2008. USDA said six of the nine major sunflower-producing states are expecting an increase in planted area in 2010, with only Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas showing decreases in expected acreage. Canola producers intend to plant 1.23 million acres in 2010, up a sizable 49 percent from 2009.