By Mary Hightower
In the week ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s “Prospective Plantings” report, farmers are getting seed in the ground amid uncertainty created by drought and input prices.
The report — due out March 31 — provides an early-season outlook for farmers’ plans for their acreage. Planting season in Arkansas was just finding its legs in the second-to-last week of March. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service on Monday reported that Arkansas farmers had 9 percent of corn planted, with rice and soybeans each at 1 percent.
“The ‘Prospective Plantings’ report is always a closely followed grower survey,” Scott Stiles, extension economics program associate for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said on Tuesday.
“Most are anticipating a significant increase in soybeans this year,” he said.
Input costs
Uncertainty in the Middle East over shipments of petroleum products has increased prices for the fertilizer urea, as well as the diesel that keeps farm equipment moving and irrigation pumping. Corn and rice need urea. Soybeans don’t.
“Prior to March 1, I would have thought corn acres to be flat; maybe slightly lower,” Stiles said. “However, nitrogen costs have jumped about 30 percent this month. This hasn't helped the margins for cotton and rice either.”
“With or without the Mideast conflict, it appeared rice and cotton acres were headed down to historically low levels anyway,” he said.
Are farmers talking about diesel and urea prices?
"That is all they are talking about,” said Kevin Lawson, Faulkner County extension agent for the Division of Agriculture. “It is the hot topic with row crop and forage producers. Urea hit $800 a ton at our co-op last week. Our rice acres will be way down this year.”
Source : uada.edu