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USDA forecasts stable corn and soybean acres in 2018

The USDA sees very little change in corn and soybean acreage in 2018 compared to last year.

In acreage estimates released this morning at the USDA Outlook Forum, corn and soybean acres were each projected at 90 million, a slight decrease from 2017 for both crops.

That’s a bit of a surprise, as many analysts expect soybean acreage to move ahead of corn in 2018. A recent Bloomberg survey of commodity trading firms and analysts puts soybeans at 90.7 million and corn at 90.1 million.

However, USDA chief economist Rob Johansson says the long-term trend is for soybean acreage to surpass corn.

“We expect a continued expansion of trade in soybeans will continue to put pressure on corn, but more likely other crop area in the future,” Johansson said. “Our latest long-term baseline suggests that soybean area will match or exceed corn area for much of the next decade, supported by import demand from China.”

USDA’s 2018 projections also have wheat acreage up one percent to 46.5 million acres and cotton increasing nearly six percent to 13.3 million.

AUDIO: Excerpt from Rob Johansson’s USDA Outlook Forum presentation