U.S. farmers intend to plant more land to soybeans and less to corn than traders expected, the Agriculture Department said, based on a survey of 84,000 growers nationwide. In its annual Prospective Plantings report, USDA pegged soybean plantings at a record 81.5 mln ac, up 7 pct from last year and 0.5 pct more than traders expected. Corn plantings were estimated at 91.7 mln ac, down 4 pct from last year and 1 mln ac less than expected. It would be the smallest corn area since 2010 but still the fifth-largest area since World War II.
A record-large soybean crop of 3.5-3.6 bln bu is within reach, USDA data suggest, which would alleviate tight supplies and bring down prices. The corn crop could total 13.7-13.9 bln bu, just behind 2013’s record crop, ensuring adequate supplies but not as large as initially expected. A compounding factor was a companion report showing the March 1 corn stockpile was 7 bln bu, about 100 mln bu less than traders expected. USDA estimated plantings of “principal” crops at 325.9 mln ac, up 1.1 mln ac from last year. The plantings report tends to under-estimate soybean sowings and over-estimate corn area. Margin of error is 3.2-3.5 pct.