Farmers expect to sow 63 percent of their soybean acres to gene-altered seeds, up from 54 percent last year, USDA's survey showed. Bio-engineered corn may be sown on 24 percent of the acres, down from 25 percent. Final acreage numbers on all crops are scheduled to be issued June 30. Away From Corn For now, the survey shows a shift away from corn. The cost of nitrogen fertilizer needed for corn crops doubled last winter after natural gas, one of its main ingredients, soared to record levels.
Soybeans suffer less than corn during hot or dry weather.
Not all farmers are stampeding to soybeans. He's literally betting the farm by planting all 600 acres to corn this year, rather than his normal mix of corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat. Cotton farmers told the USDA they expected to sow 15.6 million acres of cotton, up 0.5 percent from 15.5 million last year, less than the 4.9 percent increase analysts expected. Cotton rose almost 5 percent on the New York Cotton Exchange, rebounding from a 14-year low. All-wheat plantings will total 60.3 million acres, down 3.6 percent from last year and the smallest since 1973, the USDA said.