The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released its 2024 crop acreage estimates, showing significant shifts in planting decisions across major crops. Corn planted acreage is estimated to decrease by 5%, with 90.0 million acres expected to be planted, a reduction of 4.61 million acres compared to last year. This decline is seen across 38 of the 48 estimating states.
In contrast, soybean planted acreage is on the rise, with an estimated 86.5 million acres for 2024, marking a 3% increase from the previous year. This increase is noted in 24 of the 29 estimating states.
Wheat planting shows a decrease, with all wheat planted area estimated at 47.5 million acres, a 4% drop from 2023. The winter wheat planted area is estimated at 34.1 million acres, down 7% from last year. This includes approximately 24.3 million acres of Hard Red Winter, 6.26 million acres of Soft Red Winter, and 3.59 million acres of White Winter wheat. Other spring wheat planted area is projected to be around 11.3 million acres, a slight increase of 1% from 2023, predominantly Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum wheat planted area is expected to be 2.03 million acres, up 22% from last year.
Cotton planting is also projected to increase, with all cotton planted area estimated at 10.7 million acres for 2024, a 4% rise from 2023. This includes 10.5 million acres of Upland cotton (up 4%) and 203,000 acres of American Pima cotton, which sees a significant increase of 38% from the previous year.
These estimates reflect changing market conditions and farmer responses to global agricultural trends, affecting both domestic supply and international trade.
