From the AP via Washington Post:
USDA report: Farmers intend to plant 97.3 million acres of corn this year, highest since 1936
The USDA reports that farmers intend to plant 97.3 million acres of corn this year, the most since 1936.From Agrimoney:
The spring planting survey released Thursday says the 2013 corn planting forecast is up slightly from last year’s 97.2 million acres.
Corn remains profitable, as prices are strong after last year’s drought left the grain in short supply.
Record corn acreage is expected in Arizona, Idaho, Minnesota, Nevada, North Dakota, and Oregon.
But some Corn Belt states will continue to be affected by the worst drought since the 1950s, with slightly less planted acreage expected....MORE
Grain futures plunge as US supplies beat forecasts
Corn futures plunged the exchange limit in Chicago, with soybean and wheat prices falling too, after the US said that its stocks of all three crops were larger than had been thought, easing concerns over tight supplies.The US Department of Agriculture added to ideas of an easing in the corn supply squeeze by pegging domestic sowings of the grain at 97.3m acres, a little above market expectations, and the largest area since 1936.The USDA said that US corn inventories as of the beginning of the month had fallen to 5.40bn bushels, down some 600m bushels year on year, but well above the figure that investors had expected following last year's drought-hit harvest.The immediate market reaction was to send corn futures for May down the exchange limit of $0.40 a bushel, or 5.4%, to $6.95 ¼ a bushel.The new crop December contract dropped 3.6% to $5.50 ¾ a bushel.Wheat tumblesFor wheat, the USDA said that start-of-month inventories were, at 1.23bn bushels, a little higher than a year before, rather than showing the small decline that investors had expected, spurred by ideas of livestock feeders switching grains....MORE
