The United States Department
of Agriculture’s National Agriculture
Statistics Service says,
based on their interviews in late
winter, growers intend to plant 1.42 million
acres in 2012, up 25 percent from the
previous year.
Strong demand and a decline in acreage
over the last couple of years has left
peanuts in short supply, indicating the
need to increase production in 2012. Last
year, producers decreased peanut acreage
in many states in favor of other, higherpriced
commodities.
For 2012, if plantings are realized,
South Carolina will set a record for planting
area, and Florida and Mississippi will
be the highest planting area since 1951
and 1943, respectively.
Weather
 The winter of 2011-12 featured little
in the way of sustained cold, and precipitation
was considerably below normal
across much of the United States, except
for unexpectedly heavy December rain
and snow in the Southwest and periods of
mid- to late-winter storminess in the
Northwest. Drier-than-normal conditions
plagued parts of the Atlantic Coast States,
which led to worsening drought across
the lower Southeast.
According to preliminary information
provided by the National Climatic Data
Center, the meteorological winter of
2011-12 was overall mild and dry. In fact,
it was the fourth warmest and twentieth
driest winter on record.
Drought remains a concern across
much of the Deep South.
Cotton
Growers intend to plant 13.2 million
acres of cotton in 2012, down 11 percent
from last year. Upland acreage is expected
to total 12.9 million acres, down
11 percent from 2011. American Pima
acreage is expected to total 270,000 acres,
down 12 percent from 2011. Lower cotton
prices and strong competition from
other crops are the main factors for the decrease
in cotton acreage.
Field preparation is taking place in the
Southeast while planting is underway in
southern Texas and Arizona. As of March
25, cotton planting in Texas was 9 percent
complete. Heavy precipitation in the
Delta Region has delayed fieldwork in
some areas and eased the drought in
Louisiana. A mild winter in some cotton
growing areas has producers bracing for
potentially higher-than-normal insect and
weed pressure.
Soybeans
Growers intend to plant an estimated
73.9 million acres of soybeans in 2012,
down 1 percent from last year and down
5 percent from 2010. Compared with last
year, planted acreage intentions are down
in many areas as some acreage is expected
to shift to corn. Additionally, soybean
acreage intentions in Kansas, Oklahoma,
and Texas are down from 2011 due to
drought conditions that have continued
from last year into early March. If realized, the planted area in New York and North
Dakota will be the largest on record and
the planted area in Pennsylvania will tie
the previous record.
Corn
Growers intend to plant 95.9 million
acres of corn for all purposes in 2012, up
4 percent from last year and 9 percent
higher than in 2010. If realized, this will
represent the highest planted acreage in
the United States since 1937 when an estimated
97.2 million acres were planted.
Planted acreage is expected to be up
in most States compared to last year due
to expectations of better net returns in
2012 compared to other commodities.
Record corn acreage is expected in Idaho,
Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and
South Dakota, while acreage is expected
to decrease in the central and southern
Great Plains, which experienced severe
drought and above normal temperatures
in 2011. PG
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