(Des Moines) - U.S. corn farmers intend to plant more corn acres in 2025 and fewer soybean acres, according to a Trader PhD producer survey.
Trader PhD surveyed clients ahead of the USDA’s Ag Outlook Forum for an early read on producer intentions. The survey received more than 2,000 responses from corn, soybean, and wheat producers.
The survey found corn acreage could increase by 7.5% to 97.6 million acres in 2025. Meanwhile, soybean acres could decrease by as much as 6% to 82 million acres this spring. Trader PhD subscribers are expected to hold wheat plantings unchanged compared to a year ago at 46 million acres.
The survey showed an extreme swing and corn and soybean acres compared to other public and private forecasts. Much of the discrepancy can be explained by extreme views on planting intentions early in the season.
“Oftentimes when there’s an early survey that we do, show their preference early,” said Trader PhD CEO and founder Chad Toyne. “But what actually gets planted usually has a whole lot more to do with how the markets change in the next few weeks and what the weather allows.”
Sixty-two percent of respondents said normal crop rotation influenced their planting this year. Twenty-six percent said crop prices were the primary factor for their planting decisions. Some survey respondents said they plan to switch some cotton acres into corn due to low prices this year. Meanwhile, 5% of respondents said fertilizer or other input prices influenced their intentions.
“A heavy bias toward corn planting this year has been expressed through most analysts leading up to the USDA’s Ag Outlook Forum this week,” said Dawson Schmitt, Trader PhD’s head of market content. “We plan to survey producers again ahead of the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report at the end of March. That should give us a better idea of producer intentions.”
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Media Contact
Dawson Schmitt
Head of Market Content
dawson.schmitt@traderphd.com