corn

Corn Acreage Down, Soybean and Cotton Acres Up

Dan Agri-Business, Corn, Cotton, Field Crops, Soybeans, USDA-NASS, Wheat

corn
Green field of young corn with clean rows.
Image by SOE10/DepositPhotos

According to new estimates from the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), farmers this year planted 91.5 million acres of corn in the U.S., down 3% from last year. Soybean area planted is estimated at 86.1 million acres, up 3% from last year, while all cotton planted is estimated at 11.7 million acres, 14% above 2023. 

Following up on the Prospective Plantings report released in March, NASS surveyed approximately 9,000 segments of land and nearly 64,000 farm operators during the first two weeks of June to gather information on what farmers actually planted. Key findings in the June 2024 Acreage report include: 

Corn: 

  • Growers expect to harvest 91.5 million acres of corn for grain, down 3% from 2023.
  • Ninety-four percent of all corn acres planted in the United States are biotech varieties, up from 93% in 2023.
Advertisement

Soybeans: 

  • Soybean harvested area for 2024 is estimated at 86.1 million acres, up 3% from last year.
  • Producers planted 96% of the soybean acreage using herbicide resistant seed varieties, up one percentage point from 2023.

Cotton:

  • All cotton planted area for 2024 is estimated at 11.7 million acres, 14% above 2023.
  • Upland cotton planted is estimated at 11.5 million acres, up 14% from last year.
  • American Pima planted area is estimated at 182,000 acres, up 24% from 2023.
  • Ninety-six percent of Upland cotton planted acres are biotech varieties, down 97% from last year.

Wheat:

  • All wheat planted area for 2024 is estimated at 47.2 million acres, down 5% from last year.
  • Winter wheat planted area is estimated at 33.8 million acres, down 8% from 2023.
  • Other spring wheat planted area is estimated at 11.3 million acres, up 1% from 2023.
  • Durum wheat planted area is estimated at 2.17 million acres, up 29% from last year.

NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks and Rice Stocks reports to provide estimates of on-farm and off-farm stocks as of June 1. Key findings include:

  • Corn stocks totaled 4.99 billion bushels, up 22% from the same time last year.
  • On-farm corn stocks were up 37% from a year ago, and off-farm stocks were up 4%.
  • Soybeans stored totaled 970 million bushels, up 22% from June 1, 2023.
  • On-farm soybean stocks were up 44% from a year ago, while off-farm stocks were up 6%.
  • All wheat stored totaled 702 million bushels, up 23% from a year ago.
  • On-farm all wheat stocks were up 12% from last year, while off-farm stocks were up 27%.
  • Durum wheat stored totaled 21.1 million bushels, down 24% from June 1, 2023.
  • On-farm stocks of Durum wheat were down 22% from June 1, 2023.
  • Off-farm stocks of Durum wheat were down 26% from a year earlier.