USDA NASS to collect updated information on planted acreage

More than a few people in the ag industry were scratching their heads following the release of USDA's June Acreage report last Friday.

The report sent out on June 28 estimated corn acres at nearly 92 million and soybean acres at a 80 million. The news sent waves of uncertainty through the markets, causing corn prices to take a dive thanks to estimates that came in higher than previous forecasts.

USDA officials pointed out that the published estimates may be inaccurate as the data was collected in early June, when millions of acres that farmers intended to plant remained unplanted due to excessive rainfall. 

"Corn planted acres came in 1.1 million acres lower than March planting intentions, but well above expectations due to delayed planting," said Todd Hubbs, clinical assistant professor of Agricultural Commodity Markets at the University of Illinois. "When compared to March planting intentions in major producing states, the June survey revealed higher corn acres in Kentucky (220,000 acres), Kansas (200,000 acres), and Nebraska (300,000 acres)."

Acreage lower than March intentions in South Dakota (1.2 million acres) and North Dakota (350,000 acres) offset gains seen in other areas of the western Corn Belt. 

"Surprisingly, the major producing states in the eastern Corn Belt saw slight to no changes from the March intentions," Hubbs added.

The USDA reported 15.3 million corn acres remained unplanted as of the survey period and announced its intention to re-survey re-survey 14 Midwestern states, including each of the key corn and soybean production states. 

States to be re-interviewed by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service include North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and New York.

Updated acreage estimates will be published in the August Crop Production report on August 12, 2019.