USDA’s June Acreage report released Friday sent chills through the corn market. With planted acres for corn above pre-trade estimates at 91.5 million acres, the combination of more acres and growing stocks sent corn prices tumbling.
Here’s a quick recap of what USDA had to say in Friday’s June Acreage and Grain Stocks reports:
- 2024 corn planted acreage at 91.5 million, which is down 3 percent from 2023, but above the 90 million acres in the March Prospective Plantings report.
- Soybean acreage was pegged at 86.1 million acres, up 3 percent from last, but down from the 86.5 million in March.
- All wheat is estimated at 47.2 million acres, slightly lower than the 47.5 in March, but down 5 percent from 2023.
- All cotton planted acres for 2024 is estimated at 11.7 million acres, up 14 percent from last year.
- The June Grain Stocks Report estimates on farm stocks are up even more, up 36.5 percent. USDA says there are more than 3 billion bushels of corn currently stored on the farm, which is the highest level since 1988.
- Farmers are also holding on to more soybeans. Soybean stocks are up 22% overall. On farm stocks are even more shocking, up more than 46% since June of last year.
An In-Depth Look at Acreage Shifts
The report did come with a special note. USDA cautions farmers reported not being finished with planting when the survey was conducted between May 30 and June 16. “Nationally, corn left to be planted was 3.36 million acres. Soybeans left to be planted for the United States was 12.8 million acres,” USDA noted at the top of the report.
So, where did the planted corn acres shift in 2024 compared to 2023? According to USDA, the biggest shift to more corn acres came in the West, Western Plains and parts of the East Coast. Parts of the Southern growing areas saw a big dip in corn acres this year.
As for soybeans, the shift to more soybeans happened in the Upper Midwest, Louisiana and Kentucky. Key growing acres like Iowa, saw acreage up 1 percent year-over-year. Illinois is up 3 percent.
In Friday’s report, USDA stated of the total acres planted and to be planted, 3.36 million acres were reported as remaining to be planted when the survey was conducted.
USDA says of the total acres planted and to be planted, 12.8 million acres were reported as remaining to be planted when the survey was conducted.
A big question after the March Prospective Plantings report was the loss of principal crop acres, which fell 6.3 million acres year over year. But in the June report, USDA shows the loss of principal crop acres wasn’t as much, however, we are still seeing big losses in some state year-over-year.
USDA says crops included in area considered principal acres include corn, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, winter wheat, Durum wheat, other spring wheat, rice, soybeans, peanuts, sunflower, cotton, dry edible beans, chickpeas, potatoes, sugarbeets, canola, and proso millet. Harvested acreage is used for all hay, tobacco, and sugarcane in computing total area planted and includes double cropped acres and unharvested small grains planted as cover crops.
The Amount of Grain Stored on Farm Skyrockets
In addition to the June Acreage report, USDA also released an updated look at Grain Stocks as of July 1. It showed farmers are holding on to a surprising amount of old crop corn with stocks up 22 percent compared to June 2023.
The June Grain Stocks Report estimates on farm stocks are up even more, up 36.5 percent. USDA says there are more than 3 billion bushels of corn currently stored on the farm, which is the highest level since 1988.
Farmers are also holding on to more soybeans. Soybean stocks are up 22% overall. On farm stocks are even more shocking, up more than 46% since June of last year.
However, both sorghum and durum wheat stocks declined compared to a year ago, according to USDA.
