Growers stick with corn; bumper 2024 crop likely — survey

Contrary to expectations, U.S. farmers say they will plant enough land to corn this year that the corn harvest will be nearly as large as the record 2023 crop, according to an email survey conducted during early winter. The huge crop could result in the largest corn stockpile in decades unless there is larger domestic and global appetite for corn, said Farm Futures magazine.

Growers indicated plantings of 92.8 million acres of corn, 85 million acres of soybeans, and 48 million acres of wheat in the Farm Futures survey. Corn area would be 1.9% smaller, soybeans 1.6 percent larger, and wheat 3.2.% smaller than in 2023. The USDA says season-average soybean prices will be more favorable than corn in 2024, so corn area would drop by 4% and soybeans would expand by 4%. It projects corn at 91 million acres, soybeans at 87 million acres, and wheat at 48 million acres this year.

“Thanks to more affordable inputs in the United States last fall, many growers were hesitant to back away from regular corn rotations even as domestic usage of soybeans continues to rise,” said Farm Futures. Growers also may be waiting to see if the boom in renewable diesel fuel is for real. Soybean oil is a major feedstock for biomass-based diesel.

With normal weather and trend-line yields, the corn harvest would be 15.238 billion bushels, less than 1% smaller than the 2023 crop. Soybean production would total 4.361 billion bushels, the third-largest crop on record. The wheat crop would be 1.887 billion bushels, slightly larger than in 2023.