US farmers will reduce soyabean plantings by 2 percent this spring, reacting to low market prices and the arrival of the yield-cutting rust fungus, the government said on Thursday, but corn plantings would be the largest in 20 years. The Agriculture Department said a survey of 83,000 growers in early March indicated soyabean sowings of 73.9 million acres. Corn plantings would rise 1 percent, to 81.4 million acres. Cotton also would be up 1 percent from 2004, reaching 13.8 million acres. Wheat would fall 2 percent, to 58.6 million acres, despite upturns in spring and durum wheat.
With normal weather and yields, the corn crop would be in the range of 10.5 billion to 10.7 billion bushels and soyabeans would be around 2.9 billion bushels. Both crops would be the second-largest on record.
"The risks are all ahead of us," said private consultant John Schnittker, as harvest is months away. If soyabean plantings dip further, or if rust takes a toll, the US soyabean stockpile could shrink dramatically and boost prices.
Only 11 percent of soyabean farmers told USDA the rust fungus was a factor in their decisions on what to plant. But 49 percent - 63 percent in the South - said they would plant fewer soyabeans because of it. USDA said seedings would fall by 500,000 acres in the South. Plantings would drop by 600,000 acres in North Dakota and South Dakota, "where low soyabean prices have some farmers shifting to other crops."
In the southern states, Louisiana would show the largest decline in soyabeans, down 250,000 acres to 850,000 acres. South Carolina and Arkansas would cut plantings by 100,000 acres each. The dreaded fungus, which can cut yields by up to 80 percent if not treated, was discovered across the South last fall.
"The expected rise in soyabean production costs to combat the disease are persuading some farmers to find alternatives," USDA said.
In the Delta states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, plantings of Upland cotton would zoom by 12 percent this spring - up 120,000 acres in Louisiana and 140,000 acres in Mississippi.
Corn (maize) plantings would be the largest since 83.4 million acres were planted in 1985, according to the survey. Plantings would rise across much of the Corn Belt and southern Plains, including a record 12 million acres in Illinois. Plantings would fall in the southern states and the northern Plains due to rising fuel and fertiliser costs.