Corn and soybean planted area at parity in 2018: USDA

The USDA is forecasting that soybean and corn planted areas across the US will be at parity in 2018, with 90 million acres of land planted for both soybean and corn, down from its long-range forecast of 91 million acres for each crop.

The figures will raise eyebrows, with the trade expecting soybean to be the larger crop, with average analyst guesses at 90.6 million acres for soybean versus 89.9 million for corn.

The expected planted area for the 2018/2019 marketing year is broadly similar to the year earlier, falling to just 200,000 acres for corn and 100,000 acres for soybean year-on-year.

In terms of wheat, the planted area is expected to reach 46.5 million acres, up 500,000 acres on the year.

Corn planting has stayed steady for the past five years with seed sprinkled on around 90 million acres a year since 2014.

Over that same time period, wheat's planted area has fallen 18%, while soybean has increased 8%.

The USDA expects average prices to be marginally lower for soybean in 2018/2019 at $9.25/bu.

That compares with an average price of $4.70/bu for wheat and $3.40/bu for corn, both up 10 cents on average prices in 2017.