If Mother Nature cooperates, American farmers could grow a record number of soybeans this year.
According to the latest crop report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this year’s soybean planting estimate is 81.5 million acres. That’s a six percent increase over last year. If realized, U.S. farmers will produce a record-setting crop between 3.4 and 3.5 billion bushels of soybeans.
While farmers are planting more soybeans this year, they may be planting less corn. A little over 91 million acres of corn are anticipated. That’s the lowest amount of corn planted since 2010.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), if the corn crop is realized it will be the fifth largest crop since 1944.