Nebraska Corn Growers Planting 6 Percent Less Acres Than Last Year

Citing a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Nebraska Farmer reported that farmers in the state would be planting about 6 percent less acres in corn this year than in 2007. Last year there were 9.4 million acres planted, against the 8.8 million projected for 2008.

Nationwide, the USDA said overall corn planting will probably fall from the 93.6 million acres planted last year, to 86 million in 2008, an eight percent drop. Last year's 93.6 million was the largest amount of acres in corn in the U.S. since 1944.

The factors influencing the Nebraska market were higher corn production costs and the higher prices of competitive crops at the time the survey was taken, said Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board.

“Corn and soybean markets have fluctuated considerably this spring, and this will likely continue,” Hutchens says. “Although interesting to watch, it can make it more difficult to predict things like planting intentions because each producer calculates the best marketing opportunity for their operation, and those calculations can change. As markets change following this report, what producers intend to plant may change along with them.”