U.S. corn planted acreage lowest since 2010

The USDA released its highly anticipated Prospective Plantings report Monday, and the report showed a cut in corn acreage and uptick for soybeans.

According to the report, the USDA estimates 2014 corn planted area for all purposes at 91.7 million acres, down 4 percent from 2013. If realized, this crop will be the lowest planted acreage since 2010 but the fifth largest since 1944.

Iowa, the nation’s top corn-producing state, expects to see a slight increase in corn acreage. The USDA anticipates Iowa to plan 400,000 more acres of corn in 2014 than in 2013.

The USDA estimates soybean planted acreage at a record high of 81.5 million acres, up 6 percent from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage intentions are up or unchanged across all States with the exception of Missouri and Oklahoma.

All wheat planted area for 2014 is estimated at 55.8 million acres, down 1 percent from 2013. The 2014 winter wheat planted area, at 42.0 million acres, is down 3 percent from last year but up slightly from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 30.2 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 8.43 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.35 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2014 is expected to total 12.0 million acres, up 4 percent from 2013. Of this total, about 11.3 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. The intended Durum planted area for 2014 is estimated at 1.80 million acres, up 22 percent from the previous year.

All cotton planted area for 2014 is expected to total 11.1 million acres, 7 percent above last year. Upland area is expected to total 10.9 million acres, up 7 percent from 2013. American Pima area is expected to total 158,000 acres, down 21 percent from 2013.

The report shouldn’t come as a surprise to most traders, who already anticipated a drop in corn acreage. In a Reuters survey, analysts expected high prices for soybeans to encourage more U.S. farmers to pull back on corn. However, while corn acreage was expected to shrink, it was still expected to be higher than announced at the USDA’s annual outlook forum. 

"I think the big unanswered question is, 'what happened to the prevented planting acres when USDA did their ag outlook?'" said Mike Zuzolo of Global Commodity Analytics in Atchison, Kansas.

Uncertainty surrounding the acreage numbers kept the market on edge ahead of big report.  The plantings report is based on a survey of more than 80,000 U.S. farmers.