mn-press-releases MINNESOTA AG NEWS USDA, NASS MN Dept of Agriculture MINNESOTA FIELD OFFICE PO Box 7068, St. Paul, MN 55107 Douglas Hartwig, Director Phone: (651) 296-2230 Homepage: http://www.nass.usda.gov/mn/ E-mail: nass-mn@nass.usda.gov --------------------------------------------------------------------------- JUNE ACREAGE Released: June 30, 2008 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINNESOTA SOYBEAN ACREAGE UP, CORN ACREAGE DOWN Minnesota CORN acreage is estimated at 7.8 million acres, planted for all purposes, according to the USDA, NASS, Minnesota Field Office. This is down 7 percent from last year’s record level of 8.4 million acres. An estimated 7.25 million acres are expected to be harvested for grain. SOYBEAN acreage in Minnesota is estimated at 7.1 million acres planted, up from 6.25 million acres planted last year. SPRING WHEAT planted in Minnesota is estimated at 1.8 million acres, up 6 percent from last year. WINTER WHEAT acreage is estimated at 70,000 acres, an increase of 5,000 acres from 2007. SUGARBEETS account for an estimated 425,000 acres, a decrease of 61,000 acres from 2007. OAT planted acreage, estimated at 230,000, is down 15 percent from last year. BARLEY acreage, at 130,000 planted acres, is unchanged from 2007. CANOLA growers planted 18,000 acres, down 13,000 acres from last year. The state’s ALL SUNFLOWER acreage, at 127,000 acres, is down 3 percent from last year. FLAXSEED acreage is estimated at 5,000 acres, up 1,000 acres from last year. ALFALFA acreage decreased 4 percent from last year to an estimated 1.1 million acres. OTHER HAY acreage is estimated at 600,000 acres, down 18 percent from 2007. Crop 2007 2008 2008/ Planted Planted 2007 - 1,000 Acres - Percent Corn 8,400 7,800 93 Soybeans 6,250 7,100 114 All Wheat 1,765 1,870 106 Spring Wheat 1,700 1,800 106 Winter Wheat 1/ 65 70 108 Oats 270 230 85 Barley 130 130 100 Dry Beans 150 150 100 Sugarbeets 486 425 87 Flaxseed 4 5 125 All Sunflower 131 127 97 Oil 90 90 100 Non-Oil 41 37 90 Canola 31 18 58 All Hay 2/ 1,880 1,700 90 Alfalfa 1,150 1,100 96 Other Hay 730 600 82 1/ Acres planted in preceding fall 2/ Harvested Acres U.S. HIGHLIGHTS Corn Planted Acreage Down 7 Percent from 2007 Soybean Acreage Up 17 Percent Corn planted area for all purposes is estimated at 87.3 million acres, down 7 percent from last year. Despite the decrease, corn planted acreage is the second highest since 1946, behind last year’s total of 93.6 million acres. Growers expect to harvest 78.9 million acres for grain, down 9 percent from 2007. If realized, this would be the second highest since 1944, behind last year. Farmers increased corn plantings 1.31 million acres from their March intentions. Planting got off to a slow start across the Corn Belt, Ohio Valley, and the northern half of the Great Plains as frequent precipitation and cool temperatures during March and April prevented spring planting preparations. Corn planting was 27 percent complete on May 4, down 32 points from normal. Despite intermittent showers and below normal temperatures, producers were able to make rapid progress during May, particularly across the upper Midwest and northern Great Plains. Farmers reported that 97 percent of the intended corn acreage had been planted at the time of the survey interview compared with the average of 98 percent for the past 10 years. Soybean planted area for 2008 is estimated at 74.5 million acres, up 17 percent from last year but 1 percent below the record high acreage in 2006. Area for harvest, at 72.1 million acres, is up 15 percent from 2007. Compared with last year, planted acreage increases are expected in all States, and the U.S. planted area for soybeans is the third largest on record. The largest increase is expected in Nebraska, up 950,000 acres from 2007, followed by Illinois and South Dakota, both up 900,000 acres. Increases of at least 800,000 acres are also expected in Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. If realized, the planted acreage in Kansas, New York, and Pennsylvania will be the largest on record. Nationally, farmers reported that 79 percent of the intended soybean acreage had been planted at the time of the survey interview, which is the lowest since 1996. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2008 is estimated at 14.2 million acres, up 7 percent from 2007. Of this total, about 13.4 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. The Durum planted area for 2008 is 2.66 million acres, up 24 percent from the previous year. BIOTECHNOLOGY VARIETIES The National Agricultural Statistics Service conducts the June Agricultural Survey in all States each year. Randomly selected farmers across the United States were asked if they planted corn, soybeans, or upland cotton seed that, through biotechnology, is resistant to herbicides, insects, or both. Conventionally bred herbicide resistant varieties are excluded. Insect resistant varieties include only those containing bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). The Bt varieties include those that contain more than one gene that can resist different types of insects. Stacked gene varieties include only those containing biotech traits for both herbicide and insect resistance. The States published individually in the following tables represent 85 percent of all corn planted acres, 88 percent of all soybean planted acres, and 93 percent of all upland cotton planted acres. Corn: Biotechnology Varieties by State and United States, Percent of All Corn Planted, 2007-2008 Insect Resistant (Bt) Herbicide Resistant State 2007 2008 2007 2008 Percent Percent Percent Percent IL 19 13 15 15 IN 12 7 17 16 IA 22 16 19 15 KS 25 25 36 30 MI 19 15 22 24 MN 26 19 32 29 MO 30 27 19 21 NE 31 27 23 24 ND 29 24 37 34 OH 9 12 12 17 SD 16 7 34 30 TX 22 20 37 31 WI 19 14 23 26 Oth Sts 1/ 20 20 33 32 US 21 17 24 23 Stacked Gene Varieties All Biotech Varieties 2007 2008 2007 2008 Percent Percent Percent Percent IL 40 52 74 80 IN 30 55 59 78 IA 37 53 78 84 KS 21 35 82 90 MI 19 33 60 72 MN 28 40 86 88 MO 13 22 62 70 NE 25 35 79 86 ND 22 31 88 89 OH 20 37 41 66 SD 43 58 93 95 TX 20 27 79 78 WI 22 35 64 75 Oth Sts 1/ 14 22 67 74 US 28 40 73 80 1/ Other States includes all other States in the corn estimating program. Soybeans: Biotechnology Varieties by State and United States, Percent of All Soybeans Planted, 2007-2008 State Herbicide Resistant All Biotech Varieties 2007 2008 2007 2008 Percent Percent Percent Percent AR 92 94 92 94 IL 88 87 88 87 IN 94 96 94 96 IA 94 95 94 95 KS 92 95 92 95 MI 87 84 87 84 MN 92 91 92 91 MS 96 97 96 97 MO 91 92 91 92 NE 96 97 96 97 ND 92 94 92 94 OH 87 89 87 89 SD 97 97 97 97 WI 88 90 88 90 Oth Sts 1/ 86 87 86 87 US 91 92 91 92 1/ Other States includes all other States in the soybean estimating program.