Corn, soybean, wheat acreage up in USDA report

July 11th, 2012

By:

Category: Grains, Oilseeds

(AgriNews) – Total corn acreage not seen in 75 years was projected for this growing season by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Corn planted area for all purposes in 2012 is estimated at 96.4 million acres, up from more than 91.92 million acres last year and representing the highest planted acreage in the U.S. since 1937, when an estimated 97.2 million acres were planted.

Growers expect to harvest 88.9 million acres for grain, up 6 percent from last year’s nearly 84 million acres.

Soybean planted area for 2012 is estimated at 76.1 million acres, up 2 percent from last year’s 75 million acres and is the third highest on record. Area for harvest, at 75.3 million acres, is up 2 percent from 2011.

Record high planted acreage is estimated in New York, North Dakota and Pennsylvania, and the planted area in South Dakota ties the previous record high.

All wheat planted area is estimated at 56 million acres, compared to more than 54.4 million acres last year.

The 2012 winter wheat planted area, at 41.8 million acres, is up 3 percent from last year and up slightly from the previous estimate.

Of this total, about 30 million acres are hard red winter, 8.3 million acres are soft red winter and 3.5 million acres are white winter.

Area planted to other spring wheat for 2012 is estimated at 12 million acres, down 3 percent from 2011. Of this total, about 11.4 million acres are hard red spring wheat.

Durum planted area for 2012 is estimated at 2.20 million acres, up 61 percent from the previous year.

Corn planted in Illinois in 2012 is estimated at 13 million acres, up 500,000 from the March Prospective Plantings Report and up 400,000 acres from last year.

This is the second highest corn acres planted estimate on record in Illinois. Only 2007, with 13.2 million acres, was higher .

An estimated 8.6 million acres are planted and to be planted to soybeans in Illinois for the 2012 season. This is 400,000 acres below March intentions and 300,000 acres less than last year.

About 660,000 acres of winter wheat were seeded in Illinois last fall, 140,000 acres less than in 2010.

Harvested acreage in Illinois is expected to total 640,000 thousand acres, down 125,000 from last year.

The 2012 Indiana planted acreage of corn for all purposes is estimated at 6.2 million acres, up 5 percent from the 5.9 million acre level last year. Corn acreage expected to be harvested for grain, at 6.1 million acres, also is up 5 percent from last year.

Soybean acreage planted or to be planted for all purposes is estimated at five million acres in Indiana, 6 percent below the 2011 planted acreage level of 5.3 million acres.

The Indiana soybean acreage for harvest as grain is expected to total 4.99 million acres, also down 6 percent from a year earlier.

Indiana’s winter wheat seeded acres of 390,000 are down 9 percent from 430,000 acres a year earlier. Area expected to be harvested for grain, at 330,000 acres, is down 17 percent from a year ago and unchanged from the May 1 forecast.

Iowa’s total corn acreage is down 100,000 acres from last year’s 14.1 million, and the state continues to lead the nation in corn acres. The USDA projected Iowa harvested acres of 13.6 million, also 100,000 down from 2011.

Iowa growers shifted those corn acres to soybeans, planting 9.5 million acres this year compared to 9.35 million acres last year.

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