April 23, 2008

US corn acreage may increase from March forecast

The USDA predicted in March that farmers would plant 86 million acres of corn in 2008, but that acreage may rise in the coming weeks, a USDA forecaster said.

Gerald Bange, chair of the USDA' World Agricultural Outlook Board, said that since the prospective planting report was released March 31, the price ratio has turned to favor corn over soy, and that' a key piece of information that farmers will take into consideration.

Bange said if more farmers choose to plant corn over soy than was expected in March, that would be seen in June. The USDA is scheduled to release updated acreage estimates on June 30.

However, Bange said, one key unknown factor for farmers is the weather.

Persistent wetness and cool temperatures in the corn belt have kept farmers out of their fields so far this spring.

Unless the weather improves, allowing soil to dry out, farmers may not be able to plant more corn acres, he said.

As of Sunday, US corn planting was only 4 percent complete, compared with 9 percent planted at the same time a year ago, the USDA said Monday in a weekly crop progress report. Corn planting had not even begun in Iowa and Indiana, while Illinois farmers had only seeded 1 percent of the crop in that state, according to the report.