July 3, 2006

USDA sees US corn acreage above March forecast

The US Department of Agriculture said Friday (Jun 30) it expects US farmers to plant 79.4 million acres of corn this year, an increase from USDA's March planting forecast of 78 million acres, but about a 3 percent drop from acreage planted last year.

"With the exception of Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma, corn acreage is down from last year across the Corn Belt, Great Plains, Ohio Valley and Delta," USDA said in its June acreage report.

The USDA said a survey shows 99 percent of US corn acreage has already been planted for 2006. That's about the same pace as last year when the figure was 98 percent in late June.

Market analysts generally expected the USDA to boost its corn acreage estimate from the its annual Prospective Plantings report that was released in March. That report predicted weaker than normal planting because the USDA believed farmers would switch to "less input intensive crops due to high fertiliser and fuel costs".

But favourable planting weather spurred farmers, the USDA said.

"Progress accelerated rapidly during April despite periods of heavy rainfall as warm temperatures helped fields dry quickly," the USDA said. "By the end of April, planting was ahead of normal in all states except Indiana and the Dakotas. Mostly hot, dry conditions in the western Corn Belt and Great Plains during May and June favoured planting activities and crop emergence but contributed to soil moisture shortages and lower crop conditions."

Meanwhile, USDA reported Friday in its Grain Stocks report that corn stocks in all positions totalled about 4.36 billion bushels as of Jun 1, down from the 6.987 billion as of Mar 1. The decrease was generally expected by analysts.