American producers plant record-high soy crop

US farmers planted 78.9 million acres of soy, surpassing last year's planted area by 1.4 million acres, or 2%, and setting a new record high, according to the USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

 

Aided by favourable weather conditions early in the season, farmers in the Northern and Western Corn Belt and the Northeast increased their soy acreage. Record-high planted acreage was reported in Kansas, Nebraska, New York and Pennsylvania, while Minnesota and Oklahoma tied their all-time record highs. Iowa continues to lead all states in total soy acres with 10.2 million acres.

 

Farmers also planted a near record-breaking 87.9 million acres to corn, up 1.4 million acres from last year but down 1% from March. This marks the second consecutive increase in planted acreage to corn and the second highest acreage on record since 1946, only behind 2007.

 

Illinois and Kansas reported the largest increases in corn acres with both states planting 600,000 acres above last year. While Iowa continues to lead the nation with 13.3 million corn acres, the state experienced a decrease of 400,000 acres from 2009. This drop is primarily attributed to the increase in soy planted.

 

Despite the increases in corn, soy and cotton acres, total US crop area is slightly down, decreasing by 0.1%, or 360,000 acres, from last year. NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of June on approximately 11,000 segments of land and from a sample of approximately 71,500 farm operators across the US.