Jul 03, 2024
2024 U.S. Corn Harvested Acreage Reduced 900,000 Acres
Author: Michael Cordonnier/Soybean & Corn Advisor, Inc.
Corn acreage - In the June Planted Report, the USDA indicated that U.S. farmers would plant 91.475 million acres of corn and that they would harvest 83.438 million acres, or 91.2% of planted. This represented an increase of 1.439 million acres from the March Perspective planting report. The corn acreage came in much above the average trade estimate.
The survey for the June Planted Report was conducted before any of the recent ponding/flooding in the northwestern Corn Belt. In the impacted states there are 13.1 million acres of corn in Iowa, 10.1 million in Nebraska, 8,1 million in Minnesota, 6.1 million in South Dakota, 3.8 million in North Dakota, and 3.7 million in Wisconsin for a total of 44.9 million in those six states.
If we assume that 2% of the corn acreage in those six states has been lost due to ponding/flooding etc., that equates to about 900,000 acres plus or minus. Therefore, the corn acreage harvested for grain is estimated at 82.538 million acres or 90.2% of what was planted. The USDA
Corn yield and production -The nationwide corn yield was left unchanged at 179.0 bu/ac for the time being with a neutral to potentially lower bias. Therefore, the 2024 U.S. corn estimate is now 14.77 billion bushels.
Corn is 11% silking compared to 7% last year and 6% average. The corn is expected to reach 50% pollinated on about July 17th.
The weather last week was more cooperative with some rain in the dryer eastern Corn Belt and a few days of dry weather in the northwestern Corn Belt. Temperatures were also cooler last week, which was beneficial for the most part. The forecast for this week is calling for rain across much of the Midwest with cooler to seasonal temperatures. However, continued rains in the northwestern Midwest will maintain wetness concerns.
One area that has gotten very dry is the southeastern U.S. from Virginia down to Georgia where much of the area is abnormally dry to moderate drought. This is not a big corn producing area, but these four states have a combined 2.23 million acres of corn (Virginia 500,000 acres, North Carolina 910,000 acres, South Carolina 380,000 acres, and Georgia 440,000 acres), which needs moisture. The near-term forecast for the region is generally dry with increased chances of rain in the 6-10 day period.