US farmers expect to plant less corn and more soybean acres

Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant 90.0 million acres of corn in 2024, down 5% from last year, according to the Prospective Plantings report released by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Planted acreage intentions for corn are down or unchanged in 38 of the 48 estimating states. Acreage decreases of 300,000 acres or more from last year are expected in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, South Dakota, and Texas. If realized, the planted area of corn in Arizona and Oregon will be the largest on record.

Soybean growers intend to plant 86.5 million acres in 2024, up 3% from last year. Acreage increases from last year of 100,000 or more are expected in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, and South Dakota. Record high acreage is expected in Kentucky and New York.

The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ 2024 planting intentions. NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of nearly 72,000 farm operators across the nation. Other key findings in the report are:

• All wheat planted area for 2024 is estimated at 47.5 million acres, down 4% for comparable states from 2023.

• Winter wheat planted area, at 34.1 million acres, is down 1% from the previous estimate and down 7% from last year for comparable states.

• Area planted to other spring wheat for 2024 is expected to total 11.3 million acres, up 1% from 2023.

• Durum wheat planted is expected to total 2.03 million acres for 2024, up 22% from last year for comparable states.

• All cotton planted area for 2024 is expected to total 10.7 million acres, 4% above last year.

NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report to provide estimates of on-farm and off-farm stocks as of March 1. Key findings in that report include:

• Corn stocks totaled 8.35 billion bushels, up 13% from the same time last year. On-farm corn stocks were up 24% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were down 1%.

• Soybeans stored totaled 1.85 billion bushels, up 9% from March 1, 2023. On-farm soybean stocks were up 24% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were down 3%.

• All wheat stored totaled 1.09 billion bushels, up 16% from a year ago. On-farm all wheat stocks were up 20% from last year, while off-farm stocks were up 14%.

• Durum wheat stored totaled 36.6 million bushels, up 2% from March 1, 2023. On-farm Durum stocks were up 10% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks of Durum wheat were down 5%.

The Prospective Plantings, Grain Stocks, and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.