February 13, 2008
USDA forecasts less corn, more soy and wheat planting in 2008
The US farmers will plant 88 million acres of corn, 71 million acres of soy and 65 million acres of wheat this year, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) said Tuesday in its baseline report.
The 10-year agricultural baseline, which was based on late 2007 conditions, was released ahead of USDA's outlook forum slated on February 21-22.
The USDA's corn planting estimates drop from the 93.6 million planted in 2007. However, bigger acreage is expected to be given back to corn in the coming years.
The corn acreage is seen to rise back to 91 million acres in 2009 and 93 million acres in 2010
The department will conduct a survey by the end of March to gather the planting intentions of farmers.
The USDA released the following projections for planting and harvest for three major crops in 2008, against 2007 figures:
Corn planting is expected to fall by 5 percent, which leads to a 4-percent drop in the corn crop harvest.
Soy planting on the other hand is projected to rise by 8 percent, leading to a 14-percent rise in estimated harvest.
Wheat planting is anticipated to grow by 12 percent, which will boost harvest by 14 percent over last year's output.
|
2008 |
Corn |
Percent Change (compared to 2007) |
Wheat |
Percent Change (compared to 2007) |
Soy |
Percent Change (compared to 2007) |
|
Plant (million acres) |
88 |
-5 |
65 |
8 |
71 |
12 |
|
Harvest (million acres) |
80.6 |
-7 |
55.3 |
8 |
70.1 |
13 |
|
Harvest (million bushels) |
12,515 |
-4 |
2,350 |
14 |
2,950 |
14 |
Major US crop plantings, output in 2007
|
2007 |
Corn |
Wheat |
Soy |
|
Plant (million acres) |
93.6 |
60.4 |
63.6 |
|
Harvest (million acres) |
86.5 |
51 |
62.8 |
|
Harvest (million bushels) |
13,074 |
2,067 |
2,585 |
