Trade Sees Acres Shifting To Corn, Soybeans

On average, grain analysts expect USDA’s Prospective Plantings Survey to show U.S. soybean acreage to be up just over 1 million acres from last year. Corn acres are expected to be up a bit over 1.5 million, according to a survey by OsterDowJones Commodity News Service.

Some of the additional corn and soybean acreage is expected to come out of wheat, with estimates of total U.S. wheat seedings averaging nearly 1.9 million acres below last year’s level.

The surge in soybean prices since January is also expected to take acreage away from cotton in the South, with cotton acres now seen as steady to up only slightly. Back in January, a National Cotton Council survey pegged cotton planting intentions at 14.7 million acres, up 12.2% from last year’s level.

Editors note: Richard Brock, The Corn and Soybean Digest's Marketing Editor, is president of Brock Associates, a farm market advisory firm, and publisher of The Brock Report.

To see more market perspectives, visit Brock's Web site at www.brockreport.com.