Planting Report Shows Decline in Soybean Acres
Soybean acreage and production for 2011 are hot topics in the United States this year. With the release of the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Planted Acreage Report, there is a little better idea of how many soybean acres were planted. Based on the report, the official acreage figure for U.S. soybeans this year is currently 75.2 million acres. This is a 2.2-million-acre, or 2.8 percent, decline from last year’s level. It is also 1.4 million acres less that the March Planting Intentions Report.
The largest reason for the decline was a jump in corn acreage of just over 4 million acres, although there is still some dispute about that number, and USDA will be surveying four states in the upper Midwest in July to see if those states planted more or less acreage than reported in the June 30 Planted Acreage Report. If there are any changes, however, they should be relatively minor.
Soybean acreage in the U.S. has stagnated somewhat since moving above the 70-million-acre mark back in the late 1990s. Competition from corn acreage has been one of the factors against more soybean area as corn has expanded to fill the need for more ethanol production in the United States. South American competition has also been relatively fierce over the past few years because they have available land that can be cleared and brought into production for a minimal cost.
Planting the 2011 crop in the United States this year was a bigger struggle than usual for many as they had to fight soggy fields and also had to worry about getting other crops planted as well, mainly corn. The eastern and upper Cornbelt states were particularly hard hit because many areas had record or near-record rainfall for the planting period. Illinois, for example, ended up with less soybean and corn acreage this year than in 2010 due to the planting difficulties. Texas and Oklahoma, on the other hand, ended up with less soybean acreage due to the lack of rainfall as drought impacted their planting decisions.
Iowa was able to hold onto the top spot for soybean acreage in the United States. this year with a total of 9.2 million acres, but it is well below their record set back in 2001 when Iowa farmers planted 11 million acres. This is the ninth year in a row that they have led the state soybean acreage battle. This year’s total is down 600,000 acres from last year as Iowa farmers cut soybeans while expanding their corn area by 800,000 acres.
Illinois, as usual, is a close second at 8.9 million acres. They too, however, are well below their record of 10.6 million acres that was set back in 2003 although they had hit that level on two previous occasions. The Illinois level is down 200,000 acres from last year, but they also lost 100,000 acres of corn this year.
Minnesota came in third this year with 7.2 million acres. Although they are also down from their record of 7.5 million set back in 2003, they have held up better than either of the leaders in terms of “loss” of acres from their peak. They dropped 200,000 acres of soybeans this year compared with 2010 but were able to plant 400,000 acres more corn.
Indiana came in at number four this year with 5.3 million acres. Similar to Minnesota, their total is still relatively close to their record 5.8 million acres set back in 2002. Missouri rounds out the top five with 5.1 million acres planted to soybeans this year. Their peak was hit way back in 1999 at 5.4 million acres.
Nebraska soybean acreage is estimated at 4.8 million acres this year, which is 400,000 acres less than last year, but they did plant 850,000 acres more corn. Their record soybean acreage was actually set last year when they planted about 5.2 million acres.
Ohio farmers were able to mud in 4.7 million acres this year, which is only 50,000 acres less than their peak back in 2002, and is 100,000 acres above last year’s level.
South Dakota farmers were able to increase both soybeans and corn this year as they pushed their soy up by 100,000 acres to 4.3 million in addition to planting 650,000 acres more corn. Amazing what some good weather and high prices can do. They are still below the peak of 4.5 million acres set back in 2001.
North Dakota farmers set a new record for soybean acreage this year as they planted 4.2 million acres while also increasing their corn area. This state has come from less than a million acres of soybeans as recently as 1996, when they began their climb due to a change in the government programs that allowed them to begin switching from wheat. Kansas farmers set their soybean record last year but cut that by 400,000 acres this year to only 3.9 million. Meanwhile, they were increasing their corn area by 250,000 acres.
With the decline in soybean area in the United States this year, USDA estimates that total production will likely only get to 3.2 billion bushels, down about 3.1 percent from last year’s near-record level. Of course, there is still a long way to go to get through the summer and fall weather to get the crop grown and harvested.
Come back next month as we discuss the first field-based estimate of the U.S. soybean crop yield and what it means to production, demand and prices. And, as always, please feel free to add any comments or questions in the area below.
Planting Report Shows Decline in Soybean Acres
July 29, 2011
Soybean acreage and production for 2011 are hot topics in the United States this year. With the release of the most recent U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Planted Acreage Report, there is a little better idea of how many soybean acres were planted. Based on the report, the official acreage figure for U.S. soybeans this year is currently 75.2 million acres. This is a 2.2-million-acre, or 2.8 percent, decline from last year’s level. It is also 1.4 million acres less that the March Planting Intentions Report.
The largest reason for the decline was a jump in corn acreage of just over 4 million acres, although there is still some dispute about that number, and USDA will be surveying four states in the upper Midwest in July to see if those states planted more or less acreage than reported in the June 30 Planted Acreage Report. If there are any changes, however, they should be relatively minor.
Soybean acreage in the U.S. has stagnated somewhat since moving above the 70-million-acre mark back in the late 1990s. Competition from corn acreage has been one of the factors against more soybean area as corn has expanded to fill the need for more ethanol production in the United States. South American competition has also been relatively fierce over the past few years because they have available land that can be cleared and brought into production for a minimal cost.
Planting the 2011 crop in the United States this year was a bigger struggle than usual for many as they had to fight soggy fields and also had to worry about getting other crops planted as well, mainly corn. The eastern and upper Cornbelt states were particularly hard hit because many areas had record or near-record rainfall for the planting period. Illinois, for example, ended up with less soybean and corn acreage this year than in 2010 due to the planting difficulties. Texas and Oklahoma, on the other hand, ended up with less soybean acreage due to the lack of rainfall as drought impacted their planting decisions.
Iowa was able to hold onto the top spot for soybean acreage in the United States. this year with a total of 9.2 million acres, but it is well below their record set back in 2001 when Iowa farmers planted 11 million acres. This is the ninth year in a row that they have led the state soybean acreage battle. This year’s total is down 600,000 acres from last year as Iowa farmers cut soybeans while expanding their corn area by 800,000 acres.
Illinois, as usual, is a close second at 8.9 million acres. They too, however, are well below their record of 10.6 million acres that was set back in 2003 although they had hit that level on two previous occasions. The Illinois level is down 200,000 acres from last year, but they also lost 100,000 acres of corn this year.
Minnesota came in third this year with 7.2 million acres. Although they are also down from their record of 7.5 million set back in 2003, they have held up better than either of the leaders in terms of “loss” of acres from their peak. They dropped 200,000 acres of soybeans this year compared with 2010 but were able to plant 400,000 acres more corn.
Indiana came in at number four this year with 5.3 million acres. Similar to Minnesota, their total is still relatively close to their record 5.8 million acres set back in 2002. Missouri rounds out the top five with 5.1 million acres planted to soybeans this year. Their peak was hit way back in 1999 at 5.4 million acres.
Nebraska soybean acreage is estimated at 4.8 million acres this year, which is 400,000 acres less than last year, but they did plant 850,000 acres more corn. Their record soybean acreage was actually set last year when they planted about 5.2 million acres.
Ohio farmers were able to mud in 4.7 million acres this year, which is only 50,000 acres less than their peak back in 2002, and is 100,000 acres above last year’s level.
South Dakota farmers were able to increase both soybeans and corn this year as they pushed their soy up by 100,000 acres to 4.3 million in addition to planting 650,000 acres more corn. Amazing what some good weather and high prices can do. They are still below the peak of 4.5 million acres set back in 2001.
North Dakota farmers set a new record for soybean acreage this year as they planted 4.2 million acres while also increasing their corn area. This state has come from less than a million acres of soybeans as recently as 1996, when they began their climb due to a change in the government programs that allowed them to begin switching from wheat. Kansas farmers set their soybean record last year but cut that by 400,000 acres this year to only 3.9 million. Meanwhile, they were increasing their corn area by 250,000 acres.
With the decline in soybean area in the United States this year, USDA estimates that total production will likely only get to 3.2 billion bushels, down about 3.1 percent from last year’s near-record level. Of course, there is still a long way to go to get through the summer and fall weather to get the crop grown and harvested.
Come back next month as we discuss the first field-based estimate of the U.S. soybean crop yield and what it means to production, demand and prices. And, as always, please feel free to add any comments or questions in the area below.