Released: April 1, 1998
Volume 98, No. 4

Sorghum acreage expected to be planted, at 3.50 million acres, is down 4 percent from a year ago. Corn planting intentions totaled 2.95 million, up 4 percent from last season. Soybean planted acreage is expected to be 2.50 million acres, up 2 percent from last year. Oat seedings are expected to be unchanged from 1997 at 130,000 acres. Barley seedings, at 10,000 acres, are also unchanged from last year.

Sunflower acreage to be planted, at 200,000 acres, is down 9 percent from last season. Dry beans, at 20,000 acres, are down 9 percent from last year. All hay for harvest, at 2.70 million acres, is unchanged from last year. Cotton is expected to be planted on 18,000 acres, up from 15,000 acres last year.

Table 1-- PROSPECTIVE PLANTINGS - MARCH 1, 1998
Crop	Acreage Planted or to be Planted
	Kansas			United States
	1997	Prospectiv e 1998	1998 as % of 1997	1997	Prospectiv e 1998	1998 as % of 1997
	1,000 Acres		Percent	1,000 Acres		Percent
Wheat, All	11,400	10,700	94	70,989	67,027	94
Winter 1/	11,400	10,700	94	48,342	46,637	96
Durum	--	--	--	3,250	4,075	125
Other Spring	--	--	--	19,397	16,315	84
Sorghum, All	3,650	3,500	96	10,108	9,015	89
Corn, All	2,850	2,950	104	80,227	80,781	101
Soybeans	2,450	2,500	102	70,850	72,000	102
Oats	130	130	100	5,169	5,154	100
Barley	10	10	100	6,910	6,780	98
All Hay 2/	2,700	2,700	100	60,815	60,735	100
Sunflowers	220	200	91	2,949	3,148	107
Beans, Dry Edible	22 .0	20 .0	91	1,851 .8	1,940 .3	105
Cotton	15 .0	18 .0	120	13,818 .0	13,215 .0	96
1/ Planted previous fall. 2/ Acreage for harvest.

Soybean producers intend to plant 72.0 million acres in 1998, 2 percent above last year. If realized, this will be the largest planted area for soybeans on record.

Sorghum plantings are expected to total 9.02 million acres, down 11 percent from last year and 32 percent below the 1996 total.

The 1998 all wheat planted area is expected to total 67.0 million acres, down 6 percent from last year. This would be the lowest planted area in 10 years. Durum wheat acres are expected to increase to 4.08 million acres, up 25 percent from last year and the highest since 1982. Other spring wheat 1998 planted acres are expected to drop 16 percent from 1997 to 16.3 million acres, the lowest in 10 years.

All cotton plantings for 1998 are expected to total 13.2 million acres, 4 percent below 1997 and 10 percent less than the 1996 acres. Acreage of American-Pima cotton is up 6 percent from 1997, at 267,000 acres.

Sorghum grain in all positions totaled 114.0 million bushels, down 34 percent from December 1997 and 13 percent from the level a year ago. Off-farm stocks accounted for 86.0 million bushels and on-farm stocks 28.0 million bushels.

Kansas corn stocks in all locations, at 170.8 million bushels, were down 26 percent from December but up 13 percent from stocks last March. Off-farmstocks were 122.8 million bushels, which accounted for 72 percent of the total corn stocks. On-farm stocks, at 48.0 million bushels, were down 13 percent from last March.

Off-farm oat stocks totaled 1.35 million bushels. On-farm stocks are no longer published separately for Kansas.

Kansas soybeans in all locations totaled 48.6 million bushels, down 28 percent from December, but up 56 percent from March 1997. Off-farm stocks, at 34.6 million bushels, were up 50 percent from last year and accounted for 71 percent of the total soybean stocks. On-farm stocks, at 14.0 million bushels, were up 75 percent from last year.

All wheat stocks March 1, 1998 are estimated at 1.17 billion bushels in all positions, up 42 percent from March 1, 1997. Disappearance for the quarter ending March 1 is 453 million bushels, up 14 percent from the same period a year ago.

Soybeans stored in all positions on March 1, 1998, totaled 1.20 billion bushels, up 14 percent from holdings last year.

Barley stocks in all positions on March 1, 1998, totaled 177 million bushels, up 2 percent from a year ago.

Oats stored in all positions on March 1, 1998, totaled 111 million bushels, 17 percent above the stocks on March 1, 1997.

Grain sorghum stored in all positions on March 1, 1998 totaled 229 million bushels, down 17 percent from March 1 1997.

Table 2-- STOCKS OF GRAIN - MARCH 1, 1998, WITH COMPARISONS
Grain	Position	Kansas			United States
		Mar. 1, 1997	Dec. 1, 1997	Mar. 1, 1998	Mar. 1, 1997	Dec. 1, 1997	Mar. 1, 1998
		1,000 Bushels
All Wheat	On Farms	9,500	36,000	25,000	320,750	604,000	399,920
	Off Farms 1/	87,064	208,197	187,898	501,069	1,015,242	766,342
	TOTAL	96,564	244,197	212,898	821,819	1,619,242	1,166,262
Sorghum Grain	On Farms	35,000	45,000	28,000	76,980	99,625	56,760
	Off Farms 1/	96,000	126,815	86,005	197,294	274,244	171,943
	TOTAL	131,000	171,815	114,005	274,274	373,869	228,703
Corn	On Farms	55,000	83,000	48,000	2,870,000	4,822,000	2,975,000
	Off Farms 1/	95,848	147,598	122,767	1,624,128	2,424,756	1,962,130
	TOTAL	150,848	230,598	170,767	4,494,128	7,246,756	4,937,130
Oats	On Farms	800	1,500	*	56,200	83,400	58,800
	Off Farms 1/	1,200	1,953	1,349	39,362	61,051	52,692
	TOTAL	2,000	3,453	*	95,562	144,451	111,492
Barley	On Farms	*	*	*	82,060	135,700	78,800
	Off Farms 1/	44	35	47	90,840	109,561	98,320
	TOTAL	*	*	*	172,900	245,261	117,120
Soybeans	On Farms	8,000	21,500	14,000	514,000	1,048,000	637,000
	Off Farms 1/	23,155	46,517	34,624	541,912	951,417	565,668
	TOTAL	31,155	68,017	48,624	1,055,912	1,999,417	1,202,668
1/ Includes stocks at mills, elevators, warehouses, terminals, & processors.

Ron Sitzman & Aubrey Haynes, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician

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