Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
March 31, 2010
Nebraska producers expect to increase acreage planted to corn, soybeans, dry edible beans, and sunflowers, decreasing acreage devoted to hay, sorghum, sugarbeets, and winter wheat, while leaving oat acreage unchanged from a year ago, according to USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, Nebraska Field Office.
Nebraska corn growers expect to plant 9.2 million acres for all purposes in 2009, up 1% from 2009, according to the Prospective Plantings report released by USDA March 31.
Soybean growers intend to plant 4.9 million acres, up 2% from last year. Nationally, soybean acre numbers are expected to set a record high (see below).
Last fall, winter wheat was sown on 1.6 million acres in Nebraska, down 6% from a year earlier and 9% below the 2008 crop. This would be the smallest winter wheat planted acreage since records began in 1909.
Sorghum growers expect to plant 210,000 acres, down 25,000 acres or 11% from last year and the smallest acreage since 1931.
Dry edible bean producers intend to plant 160,000 acres, up 30,000 acres from 2009.
Sugarbeet plantings of 46,000 acres would be down 7,000 acres from a year ago.
Sunflower planting intentions, at 70,000 acres, are up 18,000 acres from last year.
Oat planting intentions, at 100,000 acres, are unchanged from 2009.
Hay acreage for harvest, at 2.65 million, would be down 2% from last year.
These acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted the first two weeks of March.
This report is intended to assist growers in finalizing their acreage plans for 2010. Actual area planted may vary from that indicated due to farmer’s final assessment of planting options, effects of weather, availability of production inputs, and changes in price expectations for the coming crop year.
Nationally Soybean Acres at Record High
U.S. farmers plan to plant a record-high 78.1 million acres to soybeans in 2010, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
NASS expects that total area planted to principal crops nationwide will hold steady at 319.5 million acres, after declining 5.7 million acres in 2009. Intended soybean acres are expected to increase 1 percent from last year’s previous record, while corn planted area is expected to increase 3 percent, to 88.8 million acres. If realized, this would be the second-largest area planted to corn since 1947, behind 2007.
The largest soybean acreage increases are expected in Kansas, up 400,000 acres, and Iowa, up 300,000. Increases of 100,000 or more acres are also expected in Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.
Expected corn acreage is up in many states due to reduced winter wheat acreage and growers’ expectations of improved net returns. Increases of 300,000 or more corn acres are expected in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. Iowa continues to lead the nation with 13.5 million corn acres, despite an expected drop of 200,000 acres from 2009.
Prospective Plantings provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for 2010. NASS surveyed approximately 86,000 farm operators across the United States during the first two weeks of March. NASS will publish data on actual planted area in the Acreage report, to be released June 30.
The full Prospective Plantings report is available online as a PDF file.
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