U.S. Farmers Expect to Plant Record-High Soybean Acreage

Planting Intentions Surpass Historic Soybean Record by 6.05 Million Acres, USDA Reports

Producers surveyed across the United States intend to plant an estimated 89.5 million acres of soybeans in 2017, up 7 percent from last year and a record high, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). If realized, soybeans will surpass the previous record of 83.4 million acres planted in the United States last year.

Planted acreage intentions for soybeans are up or unchanged in 27 of the 31 estimating states. The largest increase is expected in Kansas with 5 million acres, an increase of 950,000 acres from 2016. If realized, the planted area of soybeans in Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Wisconsin will be the largest on record.

Corn growers intend to plant 90 million acres in 2017, down 4 percent from last year, but 2 percent higher than in 2015. Expected returns for corn are anticipated to be lower compared with other crops in 2017.

The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey based estimates of U.S. farmers’ 2017 planting intentions. NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of approximately 83,300 farm operators across the United States. Other key findings in the report are:

• All wheat planted area for 2017 is estimated at 46.1 million acres, down 8 percent from 2016.
• Winter wheat planted area, at 32.7 million, is down 9 percent from last year but up 1 percent from the previous estimate.
• Area planted to other spring wheat for 2017 is expected to total 11.3 million acres, down 3 percent from 2016.
• Durum wheat is expected to total 2 million acres for 2017, down 17 percent from last year.
• All cotton planted area for 2017 is expected to total 12.2 million acres, 21 percent above last year.
• NASS today 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 8.62 billion bushels, up 10 percent from the same time last year. On-farm corn stocks were up 13 percent from a year ago, and off-farm stocks were up 6 percent.
  • Soybeans stored totaled 1.73 billion bushels, up 13 percent from March 1, 2016. On-farm soybean stocks were down 8 percent from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were up 33 percent.
  • All wheat stored totaled 1.66 billion bushels, up 21 percent from a year ago. On-farm all wheat stocks were up 9 percent from last year, while off-farm stocks were up 24 percent.
  • Durum wheat stored totaled 52.8 million bushels, up 24 percent from March 1, 2016. On-farm Durum stocks were up 83 percent from a year ago, while off-farm stocks of Durum wheat were down 18 percent.

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