U.S. farmers expect to plant more soybeans, less corn acreage

A record-high 91 million acres of soybeans are expected to be planted this season, up 4% from 2021, according to the Prospective Plantings report from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The report, released March 31, provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ 2022 planting intentions.

The largest increases are expected in Missouri and Illinois, where producers in each state intend to plant 400,000 more acres than in 2021. If realized, the planted area of soybeans in Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Michi­gan, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin will be the largest on record.

Corn growers intend to plant 89.5 million acres in 2022, down 4% from last year. Acreage decreases from last year of 200,000 or more are expected in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. Record-high acreage is expected in Nevada and South Dakota. Record-low acreage is expected in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Cotton acreage for 2022 is expected to total 12.2 million acres, 9% above last year, while rice is estimated to be down 3% to 2.4 million acres.

All wheat planted for 2022 is estimated at 47.4 million acres, up 1% from 2021. This represents the fifth-lowest wheat plant­ed area since records began in 1919. Winter wheat plantings, at 34.2 million acres, are down less than 1% from the previous es­timate but up 2% from last year. This is the 10th-lowest planted acreage on record. Other spring wheat plantings for 2022 are expected to total 11.2 million acres, down 2% from 2021.

NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of nearly 73,000 farm operators across the nation.

The Prospective Plantings and all other NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov.