U.S. soybean acreage to shrink to a four-year low, Gro predicts

US acres earmarked to soybeans will shrink to a four-year low this spring as growers plant more acres to corn and wheat, according to Gro’s Planting Intentions Models’ estimates. Gro’s US Planting Intentions Models for corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton, which generate acreage forecasts starting in February, provide users insight into expected planting mixes three to four weeks before the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report is released on March 31. Another big drop in soybean acreage occurred in 2019, following extensive flooding in the Midwest, which contributed to a 15% drop in US soybean production from the five-year average at that time. Heading into this year’s US planting season, growers are likely to forgo planting soybeans because commodity futures prices are signaling that planting corn and wheat will be more profitable. At its current level, our Planting Intentions Model for Soybeans’ projected contraction in planted acres would further squeeze the US’ soybeans ...