USDA reports increase in Delaware soybean acreage
The U.S Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service has estimated 160,000 acres of soybeans planted in Delaware for 2021, which represents a 7 percent increase from last year.
However, according to the agency’s June acreage report, there is also an estimated decrease in plantings of other crops. For corn, the USDA is reporting an estimated 175,000 acres planted this year, which represents a 3 percent decrease from last year. For winter wheat, an estimated 60,000 acres have been planted, a 20 percent decrease from last year. For hay, the USDA is reporting an expected harvest of 11,000 acres, which would be a record low and down 21 percent from last year. For barley, there have been roughly 21,000 acres planted, which is unchanged from 2020.
Stacey Hoffman, Delaware Department of Agriculture spokesperson, said there are multiple reasons why a farmer might not plant as many acres of corn, including the current annual rotation of crops, market pricing, contracts, and the global outlook for corn and beans.
This year, the market prices for soybeans are up compared to corn, which is not as high, and the need globally for soybeans is anticipated to be higher, said Hoffman. The cost of production for corn and the risks involved in growing it are higher, she said.
Hoffman said there has been a lot of fluctuation over the past six years in the number of acres dedicated to hay production. She said the state has heard from farmers that the first cutting of hay for the 2021 season is very high quality, which is great for horse owners who depend on locally produced hay.
To get its predicted acreage planted and production amounts, the USDA surveyed approximately 9,100 segments of land and 65,900 farm operators during the first two weeks of June.
Hoffman said it is important to note that the USDA’s report is an estimate, since it only surveyed a portion of farm operators across the country.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. Additionally, Flood moonlights as the company’s circulation manager, which primarily means fixing boxes that are jammed with coins during daylight hours, but sometimes means delivering papers in the middle of the night. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
