By Kirk Maltais
The Agriculture Department has updated its outlook for how many crop acres were planted in spring, increasing its outlook for the amount of corn planted.
U.S. farmers planted 89.9 million acres of corn during the spring season, which ran from April through early June, the USDA said in its planted acreage report released Thursday. In March, the USDA estimated that farmers would plant 89.5 million acres of corn.
The USDA's new projection is the lowest corn acreage since 2020.
Meanwhile, 88.3 million acres of soybeans are seen as having been planted by farmers, which is down from March's forecast of 91 million acres. Farmers are also expected to plant 47.1 million acres of wheat this year, which is down from the previous forecast of 47.4 million acres.
Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had forecast that corn acreage would rise 200,000 acres from March's projections, while soybean acreage would sink 500,000 acres. Analysts also forecast wheat acres at 46.9 million acres.
This spring, the western and southern areas of the U.S. Midwest were exceedingly dry, while areas of the eastern Corn Belt struggled with excessive moisture. Other factors, such as record-high fertilizer prices, made planting decisions more difficult for farmers.
The USDA also released its quarterly stocks report Thursday, showing inventories for corn and soybeans higher than this time last year, although more than forecast by analysts. Wheat stocks were projected as dropping this year, according to USDA data.
In trading Thursday, grain futures at the Chicago Board of Trade are down following the USDA report releases. Most-active corn futures are currently down 3%, while soybeans have pared earlier losses and are now down only 0.5%. Wheat futures are down 2.4%.
Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-30-22 1246ET
