by PressU.S. to increase corn and soybean acreage this season
U.S. corn and soybean acreage will increase to record levels
The U.S. corn planting campaign will soon begin, and now analysts are predicting how successful it will be. This year, U.S. farmers are seeking to increase the crop, hoping that weather conditions will favor the maturity of the grain. In addition, there will be an expansion of corn and soybeans planting area, totally intending to take under the culture 182 million acres of land. As noted in the Ministry of Agriculture, this figure will be a record for these plants.
In recent months, there is a high demand for corn and soybeans, which in turn led to higher prices for grain. Moreover, demand is recorded not only by importers, but also on the domestic market. It is worth noting that the USA is the largest corn exporter in the world for several years and soybean supply is the second largest after Brazil. Experts note that these crops are important for the country in terms of sales on the global market and this factor becomes even more promising with rising prices. This year, corn is projected to be planted on 92 million acres and soybeans on 90 million acres. Wheat will have 45 million acres and cotton 12 million acres.
In addition, forecasters anticipate that this season’s weather will be favorable for the planting campaign and ripening of crops. After last year’s climate disasters, the weather should return to normal rainfall and temperature levels. This factor, combined with higher crop prices, will force many farmers to increase acreage for corn and soybeans.
Reuters conducted a survey on the growth of acreage for these types of crops. The results showed that corn acreage will increase to nearly 93 million acres and soybeans to 89.4 million acres.
As for stocks on the domestic market, soybean stocks are expected to decline to their lowest level in 7 years and it will happen at the end of summer, with the new crop starting to be harvested in September.
The United States will import 25 million bushels of soybeans this season. For comparison, in the previous period the figure was 15 million bushels. Analysts hope that an increase of area under crops will allow reducing import supplies. U.S. crop exports in fiscal year 2021 are expected to be $157 billion, up $21 billion from the previous season. Shipments to China played an important role in these record numbers.