WASHINGTON, Mar. 31, 2010 – U.S. farmers plan to plant a record-high 78.1 million acres to soybeans in 2010, according to the Prospective Plantings report released today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

NASS expects that total area planted to principal crops nationwide will hold steady at 319.5 million acres, after declining 5.7 million acres in 2009. Intended soybean acres are expected to increase 1 percent from last year’s previous record, while corn planted area is expected to increase 3 percent, to 88.8 million acres. If realized, this would be the second-largest area planted to corn since 1947, behind 2007.

The largest soybean acreage increases are expected in Kansas, up 400,000 acres, and Iowa, up 300,000. Increases of 100,000 or more acres are also expected in Illinois, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Reduced winter wheat acreage

Expected corn acreage is up in many states due to reduced winter wheat acreage and growers’ expectations of improved net returns. Increases of 300,000 or more corn acres are expected in Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Ohio. Iowa continues to lead the nation with 13.5 million corn acres, despite an expected drop of 200,000 acres from 2009.

NASS estimates 2010 cotton plantings at 10.5 million acres, up 15 percent from last year. Wheat acreage is expected to decline 9 percent to 53.8 million acres, the smallest total area since 1970. The area planted to winter wheat is expected to be down 13 percent from last year.

Prospective Plantings provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S. farmers’ planting intentions for 2010. NASS surveyed approximately 86,000 farm operators across the United States during the first two weeks of March. NASS will publish data on actual planted area in the Acreage report, to be released June 30 at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

NASS also released the quarterly Grain Stocks report today, showing corn stocks in all positions at 7.69 billion bushels as of March 1. This is the second-highest March 1 stocks level on record, after 1987. Soybeans stored in all positions on March 1 totaled 1.27 bushels, down 2 percent from a year ago, while all wheat stored totaled 1.35 billion bushels, up 30 percent from March 1, 2009.

Prospective Plantings , Grain Stocks and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.