While some planters are already working in Texas, the Corn Belt seems a long way away from planting because of snow and ice.
However, the USDA is already thinking about planting. During the Agricultural Outlook Forum in Arlington, Virginia, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its acreage estimates for 2018. The USDA says corn and soybean acres will be split, with 90 million acres going to corn and another 90 million to soybeans. The agency says wheat acres should rise to about 46.5 million. Cotton is also expected to jump one million acres over the 2017 estimate of 12.6 million acres. This year’s cotton acreage estimate is officially 13.3 million acres.
Some analysts believe that soybeans could actually move past corn in the overall number of planted acres, with the potential for 91.5 million acres of soybeans in the ground. Soybean prices have rallied recently over South American weather concerns, but the export numbers haven’t been as favorable to soybeans in recent weeks.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.