According to a recent news release, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released selected tables from its upcoming “USDA Agricultural Projections to 2024” report to provide producers with a clearer vision of the future ahead of the full release.
The release notes the USDA has posted online tables containing information such as long-term supply, use, and price projections to 2024 for major crops and livestock products. The tables also include supporting U.S. and international macroeconomic assumptions.
Early release data shows an estimated 246 million acres (among the eight major crops) are expected to be planted in 2024, a decrease from 2014’s 258 million. Corn is expected to make up 89 million acres of this total, while soybeans (79 million) and wheat (52 million) will account for most of the remaining projected acreage.
Harvested acreage is also projected to come down slightly ten years from now. The data shows 225 million acres are expected to be harvested by agricultural equipment in 2024, compared to 235 million in 2014. Among the harvested acres, corn (81 million), soybeans (78 million), and wheat (44 million) will account for the vast majority of the total.
The USDA is expected to release the complete 2024 report on Feb. 11, 2015, which will include a full discussion of the commodity supply and use projections, as well as projections for global commodity trade, U.S. trade value, and farm income.
Planning for the future is a part of successful crop production. The USDA has released these tables ahead of the full report to allow crop producers to get a sneak peak at key pieces of data.