One out of every 10 corn farmers was unable to plant 25 percent or more of intended corn acreage due to the wettest spring in a quarter-century, according to a survey by Purdue University. Soybean plantings also were smaller than planned, with 9 percent of growers saying they were unable to plant from 15 to 25 percent of soybean land.
“Survey responses indicated that prevented planting acreage will be quite large, especially for corn,” said Purdue’s monthly Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer, based on survey of 400 producers nationwide, also found that 10 percent of farmers said their corn planting decisions were influenced by USDA’s announcement that trade aid payments this year would be based on a grower’s planted acreage.
Overall, a quarter of farmers said they would file a crop insurance claim for prevented planting this year. Of those farmers, 42 percent—equal to 10.5 percent of all farmers—said at least 25 percent of corn acreage went unplanted. Some 4.5 percent of all corn growers reported prevented-planting on 15-25 percent of their intended acreage.
Among soybean growers, 24 percent reported prevented-planting acreage. Of those, the most common answer, by 39 percent, was prevent-plant acreage of 15 to 25 percent.
The USDA estimates corn plantings of 91.7 million acres, up 3 percent from last year, and soybean plantings of 80 million acres, down 10 percent from 2018. It will update its acreage data on Monday as part of the August crop report.