Washington, DC, USA
June 30, 2010
U.S. farmers planted 78.9 million acres of soybeans, 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 today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
Aided by favorable weather conditions early in the season, farmers in the Northern and Western Corn Belt and the Northeast increased their soybean acreage. 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.
Farmers also planted a near record-breaking 87.9 million acres to corn, up 1.4 million acres from last year but down 1 percent from March. This marks the second consecutive increase in planted acreage to corn and the second highest acreage on record since 1946, only behind 2007.
Illinois and Kansas reported the largest increases in corn acres with both states planting 600,000 acres above last year. While Iowa continues to lead the nation with 13.3 million corn acres, the state experienced a decrease of 400,000 acres from 2009. This drop is primarily attributed to the increase in soybeans planted.
The Acreage report also shows an increase in cotton acres for the first time since 2006, due in part to advantageous weather and high prices. Farmers planted 10.9 million acres of cotton, up 1.8 million acres, or 19.2 percent, from 2009. Increased acreage was widespread throughout most of the Cotton Belt.
Despite the increases in corn, soybean and cotton acres, total U.S. crop area is slightly down, 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 United States.
NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report today, 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.
Acreage, Grain Stocks and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.
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