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USDA: Growers continue to provide food, feed and fuel

MARION, OH – The USDA’s recently released acreage report shows Ohio growers planting an estimated 3.2 million acres of corn in 2008, an 8.7 percent decrease from 2007 when 3.6 million acres were planted.

Ohio follows national trends as the USDA reports corn planted area in the U.S. is estimated at 87.3 million acres, down 7 percent from last year.

Despite the decrease, corn planted acreage is the second highest since 1946, behind last year’s total of 93.6 million acres.

Further, USDA reported that corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2008 totaled 4.03 billion bushels, up 14 percent from June 1, 2007. Of the total stocks, 1.97 billion bushels are stored on farms, up 8 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 2.06 billion bushels, are up 21 percent from a year ago.

In Ohio, planted wheat acreage has increased 25 percent from 820,000 acres in 2007 to 1.1 million acres this year, according to the USDA. Nationwide, wheat acres are up nearly 5 percent.

“Growers around the world responded to the market signals from feed grains and oilseeds. The global wheat crop is in good shape and we will see an increase in feed wheat in many countries taking some pressure off of U.S. corn demand. We still have a significant part of the growing season left to determine the final corn crop, but the USDA report indicates U.S. farmers are once again doing their part in providing feed, food, and fuel,” said Dwayne Siekman, executive director of the Ohio Wheat Growers Association and the Ohio Corn Growers Association.

USDA’s first estimate of production and yield based on actual crop estimates will be released Aug. 12. Presently, with an estimated yield of 148.9 bushels per acre, total corn 2008 supply (production and carry-in) would be 13.2 billion bushels, meeting all currently estimated demands and providing a carry-out that is more than 5 percent of supply.