Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler sits down each week with Southern Farm Network’s Rhonda Garrison to discuss “Today’s Topic.”
The June crop acreage forecast from USDA has been released, and it shows significant gains in soybean acres in North Carolina. The state is forecast to see a 16 percent increase in soybean acreage this year, with growers expected to plant 1.7 million acres.
The forecast in North Carolina reflects the interest in soybeans across the country. U.S. farmers are forecast to plant about 85 million acres of soybeans this year, which is a record. There are a couple of reasons for that. There is tremendous international demand for U.S. soybeans, particularly from China. And soybean prices have been strong for quite a while.
With all the interest in soybeans, corn acres in the U.S. and North Carolina are expected to decrease this year. The corn forecast for North Carolina is 860,000 acres, which is 8 percent less than a year ago.
The state also saw a drop in wheat acreage this year. The total was 830,000, compared with a record 990,000 acres last year.
Overall, though, the state is expecting increases. Other crops with acreage gains include sweet potatoes, which are forecast to be up 22 percent, and peanuts, which are expected to rise by 10 percent.
After two straight years of declines, the cotton crop is forecast to increase by 5,000 acres this year, to a total of 470,000.
And the tobacco crop is expected to be 182,800 acres, slightly above last year’s total of 181,900.
Planted acreage is only part of the story. Ultimately, it comes down to how many acres you are able to harvest, and how much you yield from those acres.
Click on the audio player below to listen to Commissioner Troxler and Rhonda discuss the latest acreage forecast.
[Audio:http://info.ncagr.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/Troxler_7-8.mp3|titles=Today’s Topic for July 8]
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