Farmers are getting some help from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.It will distribute $11.5 billion to support smaller farmers affected by the pandemic.The department also increased payments being made to cattle producers and farmers who grow crops, like corn and soybeans.
Nebraska farmers are expected to plant less corn and more soybeans than they did last year.
The Prospective Plantings report released Wednesday by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service forecasts the state's farmers will plant 9.9 million acres of corn, about 3% less than in 2020.
But they will plant considerably more soybeans, with 5.5 million acres forecast, a 6% increase over last year.
Overall, the USDA is predicting Nebraska farmers will plant slightly more than 19.8 million acres of all crops, a tiny increase over the 19.78 million planted last year.
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While the U.S. as a whole is forecast to plant slightly more corn this year, the top-producing states are all forecast to see declines.
Iowa, the top corn-producing state, is expected to plant 3% fewer acres, while No. 2 state Illinois is forecast to have 4% fewer acres. Of the top five corn-producing states, four are forecast to see a planting decline and one, Minnesota, is projected to plant the same acreage as last year.
The prices for both corn and soybeans have been at multiyear highs recently, with corn hitting an eight-year high this month and soybeans hitting a seven-year high. A number of factors, including higher yields, more overseas buying and fewer crops in storage, have helped drive the increases.
Creighton University Economist Ernie Goss said that even though both crops have seen strong price gains over the past year, soybeans have increased more, so "it is not surprising to see shifting from corn to soybeans," he said.
Brad Lubben, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln agricultural economist, said he was a bit surprised by the forecast, as were the grain markets, which caused a spike in futures prices for both corn and soybeans on Wednesday.
New crop futures contracts for corn and soybeans settled at $4.77 and $12.56 per bushel respectively, a price spread that favors soybeans, Lubben said.
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"The ratio of the two is 2.6, which is high enough to tend to favor a shift toward soybeans, which is what the Nebraska data suggest has already happened, at least in intentions," he said.
Cory Walters, an associate professor of agricultural economics at UNL, said that after a couple of rough years, the decision for many farmers may simply come down to how much investment they have to make in each crop.
It costs more than $770 an acre to plant corn and slightly less than $600 an acre to plant soybeans, he said.
"It's just cheaper to plant soybeans," Walters said.
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PHOTOS: HARVEST TIME IN NEBRASKA
Photos: Harvest time in Nebraska in past years
Harvest time
A farmer harvests under an almost full moon on Oct. 23, 2018, east of Ceresco.
Harvest time
Ted Glock (left) and his father, Eugene Glock, wrapped up the 42nd harvest with the family's 1978 International Harvester combine in November.
Harvest time
Marie and Nico Sandman pick out fresh produce at the Robinnette Farms stand at the Holiday Harvest Farmers Market inside the Park Centers Banquet Hall in December 2018.
Harvest time
Jerry Lawton pulls an auger wagon as he and his brother Larry harvest soy beans at Nebraska 79 and Raymond Road in October 2016.
Harvest time
Harvey Cramer (right) watches as his son Lee Cramer harvests soybeans in October 2017 in Gage County.
Harvest time
A combine harvests corn during the Husker Harvest Days farm show in Wood River in September 2018.
Harvest time
At dinnertime, Meghan Hammond delivers food to a hired hand to eat at the wheel of the combine in 2017. Corn harvest often continues late into the night.
Harvest time
The gold of harvest fills a truck near Southwest 140th and Van Dorn in the Pleasant Dale area in October 2015.
Harvest time
Farmer Todd Buel harvests corn from a field 3 miles east of Clatonia in November 2015.
Harvest time
Sixth-generation farmer Todd Buel harvests corn from a field 3 miles east of Clatonia in November 2015.
Harvest time
Don Magee, with his grandson Jacob Larsen in tow, uses his 1957 John Deere and vintage Dearborn-Woods Bros picker to harvest a row of corn southeast of Lincoln in November 2015.
Harvest time
Jacob Larsen, 19, uses his grandfather's 1957 John Deere tractor and vintage single-row picker to harvest corn Monday southeast of Lincoln in November 2015.
Harvest time
With harvest complete, the hay minions have returned to their home on the highway between Beatrice and Lincoln in October 2015.
Harvest time
Corn crops are harvested by a combine at Louis Stukenholtz's farm outside of Nebraska City in October 2015.
Harvest time
Scott Kinkaid grew 80 acres of malting barley and harvested it on his farm near Hartington in 2014 in what was believed at the time to be Nebraska's only commercial growing operation for malting barley.
Harvest time
Farmer Blake Huls, of Cortland, spends part of a rainy day during harvest season working on his dad's combine in September 2014.
Harvest time
Jim Nagle harvests soybeans north of Lincoln near North 14th Street and Raymond Road in September 2012.
Harvest time
The harvest isn't always in the fall. Sixth-graders Cassie White (from left), Logan Brown and Kylee Combs from Christ Lutheran Vacation Bible School help harvest turnips from a raised bed at the Mickle Middle School community garden in June 2014.
Harvest time
A farmer harvests corn in Pawnee County in October 2017.
Harvest time
Picker Juan Ortega, of Lincoln, picks bunches of Lacrosse grapes during the August 2013 harvest at James Arthur Vineyards.
Harvest time
As harvest season wrapped up last November, Farmers Cooperative in Pickrell had two piles of corn on the ground.
Harvest time
Corn flows into a truck in Pawnee County in 2017.
Harvest time
Kathi Kirwan of Greenwood carries buckets full of freshly picked Lacrosse grapes through the vineyard at James Arthur Vineyard in August 2013.
Harvest time
Farmer friends of Rick Meints, who died April 26, 2019, harvested his soybeans the following October.
Harvest time
Allen Bongers harvests a cornfield on the north edge of Brainard in October 2014. Riding along in the cab were his daughter-in-law Kim Bongers and granddaughter Leah Bongers.
Harvest time
Amy Gerdes harvests tomatoes in the hoop house at the Community CROPS farm and garden near 112th and Adams streets in August 2013.
Harvest time
David Brhel harvests corn 3 miles east of Milford in October 2014.
Harvest time
Volunteers harvest corn on Jon Stopak's farm near Duncan in October 2013. Stopak was injured the previous month in a four-wheeler accident, preventing him from harvesting the 120 acres. Friends, family and neighbors helped harvest the crop.
Harvest time
Phalin Strong helps harvest lavender in Bennet in June 2013.
Harvest time
Carl Goeking of Fairbury drives a grain truck as he helps his son-in-law Galen Roebke harvest soybeans in October 2013 east of Seward.
Harvest time
A few uncut stalks of wheat remain after a combine finishes harvesting a central Illinois winter wheat field in July 2013 in Farmingdale, Ill.
Harvest time
Jan Cech bundles lavender while harvesting in Bennet in June 2013.
Harvest time
Farmers harvest corn in Waterloo in September 2012.
Harvest time
A combine is surrounded by dust as it finishes harvesting a row of corn near Bennington in September 2013.
Harvest time
Carol Pope harvests a bumper crop of grapes at Twin Creek Vineyard near Sterling in August 2012.
Harvest time
A combine harvests corn near Bennington in September 2012.
Harvest time
Garrett VanDerSys carries freshly harvested German Extra Hardy in June 2012, one of 32 varieties of garlic grown at Back When Farms.
Harvest time
Not every farmer has a huge operation. Jody Barber harvests lettuce from her first garden while her puppy Moxy runs around the backyard of her home on 37th Street in April 2012.
Harvest time
Ernie Rousek harvests seeds from gayfeathers (Liatris pycnostachya) on his four-acre prairie near Pleasant Dale in October 2011.
Harvest time
Chris Peters harvests soybeans near DeWitt in October 2011.
Harvest time
A farmer harvests wheat north of Malcolm in July 2011.
Harvest time
With combined stalks standing against a late-afternoon fall sky, Myron Dorn's tractor and corn wagon wait for another load as he combines south of Firth in September 2010.
Harvest time
Myron Dorn, working with Dorn Brothers of rural Adams, harvests corn south of Firth in September 2010.
April 01, 2021 at 08:00AM
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Nebraska farmers expected to plant more soybeans, less corn this year - KPVI News 6
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