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The U.S. Department of Agriculture presented the crop forecasts for the upcoming season during the USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum. USDA economist Bryn Swearingen provided the forecast for corn, soybeans and wheat.
Swearingen said, “While corn acres are forecasted down to 94 million, this is still the third highest on record, and soybeans are forecasted to have a recovery to 85 million acres, largely on typical rotations across the Corn Belt and the Deltas, as well as higher profitability compared to some of those other commodities.
And then for wheat, we utilized the survey results from the January winter wheat and canola seedings report, and this showed that total winter wheat acreage is forecasted to be slightly down from last year. But with total acreage forecasted down, it also means a slight decrease for spring and Durham acres as well.“
Economist Stephanie Galbraith provided the forecast for cotton, saying, “Production is projected roughly 300,000 bales lower, while exports are 200,000 bales higher. Ending stocks are projected down 200,000 bales to 4.2 million, for a stocks to use ratio of about 30%. With a global drop in production, we expect to see a small increase in the farm price to 63 cents per pound in 2026, as the small growth in global demand limits any further price rise.”
Audio Reporting by Dale Sandlin for Southeast AgNet.