By Tyne Morgan, AgWeb.com

USDA’s June Acreage report released Friday sent chills through the corn market. With planted acres for corn above pre-trade estimates at 91.5 million acres, the combination of more acres and growing stocks sent corn prices tumbling.

Here’s a quick recap of what USDA had to say in Friday’s June Acreage and Grain Stocks reports:

*2024 corn planted acreage at 91.5 million, which is down 3 percent from 2023, but above the 90 million acres in the March Prospective Plantings report.

*Soybean acreage was pegged at 86.1 million acres, up 3 percent from last, but down from the 86.5 million in March.

*HAll wheat is estimated at 47.2 million acres, slightly lower than the 47.5 in March, but down 5 percent from 2023.

*All cotton planted acres for 2024 is estimated at 11.7 million acres, up 14 percent from last year.

*The June Grain Stocks Report estimates on farm stocks are up even more, up 36.5 percent. USDA says there are more than 3 billion bushels of corn currently stored on the farm, which is the highest level since 1988.

*Farmers are also holding on to more soybeans. Soybean stocks are up 22% overall. On farm stocks are even more shocking, up more than 46% since June of last year.

An In-Depth Look at Acreage Shifts

The report did come with a special note. USDA cautions farmers reported not being finished with planting when the survey was conducted between May 30 and June 16. “Nationally, corn left to be planted was 3.36 million acres. Soybeans left to be planted for the United States was 12.8 million acres,” USDA noted at the top of the report.

So, where did the planted corn acres shift in 2024 compared to 2023? According to USDA, the biggest shift to more corn acres came in the West, Western Plains and parts of the East Coast. Parts of the Southern growing areas saw a big dip in corn acres this year.

As for soybeans, the shift to more soybeans happened in the Upper Midwest, Louisiana and Kentucky. Key growing acres like Iowa, saw acreage up 1 percent year-over-year. Illinois is up 3 percent.

To read the entire report click here.