Spring officially arrived in the United States last week, and with the new season comes anticipation of the 2018 crop year. As U.S. farmers prepare to plant soybeans, early estimates indicate they’ll be planting less corn – and more soybean – acres this year.
The official U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) acreage report will be released in late March, but in the meantime, private analysts predict U.S. farmers will plant 92 million acres of soybeans and 90 million acres of corn, according to a Successful Farming story published on March 20.* This would be the first time in history that U.S. farm fields have been planted with more soybeans than corn. This acreage shift might be attributed to commodity prices, or to a colder-than-average March, since later planting dates typically favor soy over corn.
However many acres of soybeans are planted in the U.S. this year, international customers can be confident they will produce a sustainable, high-quality product when they are harvested next fall.
*McGinnis, M. (March 20, 2018). Unofficially, put down more soybean acreage in the U.S.: Corn belt farmers agree with less corn acreage talk. Successful Farming.
