Washington—The USDA on March 31 released its Prospective Plantings report, which confirmed earlier predictions of a significant reduction in corn, rice, and wheat acreage, along with a record soybean crop and a big upswing in cotton acreage.
Corn planted area in 2017 is estimated at 90 million acres, down 4 percent – or 4 million acres – from last year, but 2 percent higher than in 2015. Compared with last year, USDA said planted acreage is expected to be down or unchanged in 38 of the 48 estimating states. USDA said corn acreage decreases of 400,000 acres or more are expected in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Texas compared with last year. “The reduction in planted acres is mainly due to the expectation of lower returns compared with other crops in 2017,” USDA said.
Soybean planted area for 2017 is estimated at a record high 89.5 million acres, up 7 percent from last year. Compared with last year, USDA said planted acreage intentions are up or unchanged in 27 of the 31 estimating states. Increases of 500,000 acres or more are anticipated in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Nebraska.
All wheat planted area for 2017 is estimated at 46.1 million acres, down 8 percent from 2016. USDA said this represents the lowest total wheat planted area for the U.S. since record-keeping began in 1919.
All cotton planted area for 2017 is estimated at 12.2 million acres, up 21 percent from last year. If realized, USDA said this will be the highest planted cotton acreage since 2012.
Area planted to rice in 2017 is expected to total 2.63 million acres, down 17 percent from 2016, with sizable acreage declines predicted in major rice producing states like Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Texas, and California.