American farmers are set to cut how much corn, wheat and rice they plant this year and shift to more soybeans and cotton, according to a new government survey data released Tuesday.
The numbers, released as part of the Agriculture Department’s highly anticipated prospective planting survey, are within the range of expectations published by the department in February.
Tuesday’s survey results didn’t show a major swing in planting numbers feared by some industry representatives amid a fertilizer price spike caused by the Iran war that many say could push farmers to grow less corn and more soybeans. But the numbers might not show the full picture of increasingly dire economic headwinds in farm country.
Farmers are planting 3.5 percent less corn and 3.5 percent less of all wheat, according to the survey, and said they’re planting 4.3 percent more soybeans and 3.9 percent more cotton.
