Linda H. Smith, Top Producer Business and Marketing Editor
On March 31, USDA will release its prospective plantings estimates. What can be expected for this big, potentially market-moving report?
“Soybean acres will set a new record,” says Joe Victor of Allendale, “and corn planted will be the second largest since 1944, while wheat is the smallest since 1970.”
The Gulke Group expects corn to be reported between a low of 87.29 to a high of 88.00 million acres; their estimate is 87.65 (see table). Soybeans should come in between 78.6 to 79.39, says Jerry Gulke. “If weather is not cooperative, corn acres will fall to low end of our estimate with soybeans the benefit. It seems that current conditions without further deterioration will not lead to increases in spring wheat intentions as it will be too late to plant and prices are telling farmers not to plant spring wheat versus better returns for soybeans, corn, barley and especially pulse crops [food beans, peas] and canola.”
| 2009 | USDA Feb. Outlook | Allendale | Doane | Informa | Gulke Group | Pro Farmer | |
| Corn | 86.48 | 89.00 | 90.15 | 89.00 | 88.43 | 87.65 | 88.78 |
| Soybeans | 77.45 | 77.00 | 79.11 | 79.00 | 78.63 | 78.80 | 78.96 |
| Wheat | 59.13 | 53.80 | 45.68 | 51.85 | 53.66 | 53.32 | 52.9 |
Listen to Gulke’s comments on last week’s trade and the outlook for this week by clicking here.
You can e-mail Linda Smith at lsmith@farmjournal.com.
