Corn Acres Up from 2018, Lower than March Projections

American farmers planted 2.5 million more acres of corn in 2019 than they did the previous year, a three percent increase, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Acreage report released today. The report indicates a 1.1 million-acre net decrease from the prospective planting report released in March. At the same time, today’s report shows a 1.8 million-acre increase from the planted acre forecast issued in the June World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. Total corn acres planted in the United States are projected at 91.7 million.

Given the projected harvested corn acreage released in the report of 83.5 million acres and the most recent USDA estimated average national yield of 166.0 bushels per acre, farmers could harvest a crop of 13.861 billion bushels, slightly above the average over the past ten-year period.

The largest year-to-year acreage increases were seen in Kansas and North Dakota, where corn acreage increased by 530,000 and 520,000 acres respectively.  Conversely, farmers in South Dakota reduced acres this past year by 540,000 with another notable decrease seen in Wisconsin of 370,000 acres.

For the full Acreage report, click here.