AgMarket.Net®, an agricultural brokerage and consulting firm, announces its acreage estimates ahead of USDA’s Prospective Plantings report release.
The company expects soybean acres to climb substantially in 2026 while corn acres retreat from 98.8 million acres in 2025, a figure AgMarket.Net® considers an outlier.
“Beans are at levels we haven’t had a chance to hedge at in a long time,” says co-founder and CEO Matt Bennett. “The combination of stronger soybean prices, the natural corn-to-soybean rotation and what it costs to put corn out this year – all of those things point to a larger shift in soybean acres.”
Bennett notes corn acres could remain strong by historical standards. The firm believes combined corn and soybean acres should exceed 2025 totals, reflecting fewer cotton and rice acres.
“Producers are still going to want to plant corn,” says Bennett. “Producers can insure more revenue for less money invested this year. At the same time, it’s a bit more prohibitive to plant corn. Last year’s aggressive corn acres drive the rotation shift and surging energy and input costs from the crisis in the Middle East add to that pressure.”
AgMarket.Net® projects all-wheat acres lower from a year ago, citing weak profit margins. The firm notes winter wheat acres are largely locked in, with spring wheat acres expected to decline.
Along with surveying AgMarket.Net® and John Stewart & Associates clients, the company used direct farmer engagement, economic analysis, historical data and trends. Company analysts gained industry-wide perspective through contacts within the commercial business, input, transportation and meteorological sectors. AgMarket.Net® also factored in spring crop insurance prices.
AgMarket.Net® is the Farm Division of John Stewart & Associates.
Contact Betsy Jibben for further information.
