CHICAGO, March 16 (Reuters) – U.S. farmers will expand their plantings of corn by nearly three percent in 2016 while scaling back slightly on soybeans, according to a survey of growers released on Wednesday by Illinois-based research and brokerage firm Allendale Inc.
The numbers a very close to what the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast last month.
Allendale’s survey of farmers in 25 U.S. states said plantings of corn would increase to 90.431 million acres from 87.999 million in 2015, with soybean acreage dipping to 82.575 million from 82.650 million.
If realized, Allendale’s soybean acreage would be the third-highest on record, while corn plantings would be the sixth-largest of the last 10 years.
The firm’s figures compare with the USDA’s initial plantings forecasts in February of 90 million acres for corn and 82.5 million acres for soybeans.
Allendale’s survey projected 2016 all-wheat plantings at 51.769 million acres, down from 54.644 million in 2015 but more than the USDA’s February forecast of 51 million.
The all-wheat figure combines seedings of winter wheat, durum wheat and spring wheat other than durum.
Allendale estimated durum wheat seedings at 1.975 million acres and seedings of other spring wheat at 13.185 million acres.
The USDA in January estimated winter wheat plantings at 36.609 million acres.
Based on its acreage estimates and trend-line yields, Allendale said its figures implied U.S. 2016 crop production at 13.632 billion bushels of corn, 3.722 billion bushels of soybeans and 1.998 billion bushels of wheat.
USDA will release its annual prospective plantings report, based on surveys of tens of thousands of farmers, on March 31.
