July 2, 2007

Lower US soybean output seen this year on shift to corn
 

The US Department of Agriculture Friday (June 29) lowered its soybean planting acreage forecast as more farmers than expected switched to corn in order to meet rising demand from ethanol producers.

"The primary reason for the decline of soybean acreage this year is farmers shifting their acreage to corn," the USDA said in the Friday report.

US farmers are now predicted to plant soybeans on 64.1 million acres, a drop from the 67.1 million acres that the USDA predicted in March and the lowest since 1995.

Except in the cases of some southeast states and New York and Pennsylvania "planted acreage decreased in all states across the country," the USDA said.

States that showed some of the sharpest declines in soybean planting, such as Illinois, Iowa, Indiana and Minnesota, also showed some of the steepest increases in corn planting, according to USDA data.

"Driven by favourable prices, growing ethanol demand and strong export sales, farmers in nearly all states increased their corn acreage," USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service said in a statement also released Friday. "They set state records in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and North Dakota, while Iowa continued to lead all states in total corn acres."