March 14, 2007

US corn acres 88.4 million, soy 68.9 million in 2007
 

US farmers will plant the largest amount of their land to corn in 60 years in 2007 at 88.4 million and sow 68.9 million acres of soy, according to the latest survey by Farm Futures Magazine.

According to Farm Futures editor Bryce Knorr, the rally to new contract highs for December corn futures in February came at just the right time when producers finalised planting decisions.

The survey, released early Tuesday (March 13), was derived from a poll of 859 farmers from March 5-12.

The fresh data show corn acreage intentions unchanged from the magazine's survey in January. The soy acreage estimate is 600,000 less than the magazine's survey results in January.

The US Department of Agriculture has a baseline or working number for 2007 US corn acreage of 87.0 million and a soy acreage number of 70.5 million. USDA on March 30 will release the first official government acreage estimate based on farmer surveys.

In 2006, US farmers planted 78.3 million acres of corn and 75.5 million acres of soybeans, according to USDA.