Corn acres on par with last year

Nebraska corn producers intend to plant some 8.8 million acres of corn in 2009, the same number of acres as last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Prospective Plantings report that came out this morning.

Depending on weather as planting begins - and then during the growing season - the potential is certainly there for a very big crop based on the total number of acres planted.

USDA's acre update in June (and weather!) will keep markets guessing as to where we'll end up.

Don Hutchens, executive director of the Nebraska Corn Board, said in a news release that the report indicates Nebraska will remain a consistent supplier of corn.

"The supply side for corn looks extremely healthy, as planting intentions would be the third-largest on record," Hutchens said. "Farmers have seen some input costs fall, which will help their bottom line, and once planting starts, the large investment farmers make in planting the crop will provide a stimulus package to rural communities."

Nationally, USDA said corn producers intend to plant 85.0 million acres, down 1 percent from last year’s 86.0 million. Although acres are down from last year and two years ago, prospective plantings this year are still the third largest since 1949, and planting intentions in the top 10 corn states have increased slightly over last year.

USDA also released a report on corn stocks - the amount of corn in storage across the country.

It said the U.S. had 8.8 billion bushels on hand as of March 1, an increase of 1 percent from last year. In Nebraska, there were 808.3 million bushels on hand, an increase of 5.4 percent from 766.8 million a year ago. There is a lot of corn still in bins across the country.

Photo: Holdrege FFA (Nebraska Corn Board 2008 Crop Progress Collection)