USDA Expects U.S. Farmers to Opt for Soy Over Corn in 2017

U.S. farmers are expected to plant a record 84.6 million acres of soybeans in 2017 - an increase of 900,000 acres over this year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) while corn acreage is forecasted to decline by five percent.

Corn acreage is expected to total 90 million acres, or 4.5 million acres down from this year, and if given normal weather, the 2017 corn crop is expected to be 14.060 billion bushels – significantly lower than the harvest of 15.226 billion bushels harvested this year. Meanwhile the 2017 U.S. soybean crop is forecast to be 4.050 billion bushels, the second largest harvest after the estimated 4.361 billion bushels this year.

Meanwhile wheat sowing is expected to total 48.5 million acres, a decrease of 1.7 million acres year on year indicating a projected 2017 harvest of 1.936 billion bushels – the smallest crop since 2006.

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