USDA: More Corn Planted in 2011

Posted by Chad Vorthmann on Jun 30, 2011 in Ag/Food Industry, Crops | 0 comments

In spite of weather events and floods that pushed many farmers to the brink this planting season, the Agriculture Department today said 5 percent more corn was planted this year than last. USDA said 92.28 million acres were planted to corn, roughly 4 million more acres than were planted last year.

Colorado corn producers planted 1,400,000 acres of corn this year, a five percent increase in planted acreage for all purposes. Winter wheat producers in the state planted 2,350,000 acres in the fall of 2010 for harvest in 2011, down from 2,450,000 acres planted for the previous year’s crop. Spring wheat seedings, at 30,000 acres, are reportedly up 2,000 acres compared with a year ago.

Corn was by far the biggest surprise in the national report, officially exceeding all major trade analyst estimates. The 2011 planted corn crop is the second largest since 1944, eclipsed only by 2007. USDA also expects 84.88 million acres of that corn to be harvested this fall, which is up 3.44 million acres from last year.

Planted soybean acres, on the other hand, are pegged at 75.2 million acres, which is down 3 percent or about 2.2 million acres from last year. USDA expects that 74.25 million acres of soybeans will be harvested this year, a 2.35 million acres decline from last year.

Other national highlights show: wheat acres at 56.4 million acres, up 5 percent from 2010; cotton acres at 13.7 million, up a whopping 25 percent from last year; and rice acres at 2.67 million, down 960,000 acres from 2010.

Corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2011, totaled 3.67 billion bushels, down 15 percent from June 1, 2010. Soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2011, totaled 619 million bushels, up 8 percent from June 1, 2010. Wheat stored in all positions on June 1, 2011, totaled 861 million bushels, down 12 percent from a year ago.