Washington (Platts)--29Jun2007

US farmers planted 92.9 million acres of corn in 2007, the highest
planted acreage since 1944 when farmers planted 95.5 acres, the Department of
Agriculture said Friday.

     Driven by favorable prices, growing ethanol demand and strong export
sales, farmers in nearly all states increased their corn acreage, the
department said, setting records in Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota and North
Dakota, while Iowa continued to lead all states in total corn acres. 

     The increase in corn is offset mainly by fewer acres of soybeans and
fewer acres of cotton. Nationwide, an estimated 64.1 million acres of soybeans
were planted, down 15% percent from last year's record high. Area planted to
cotton totals 11.1 million acres, a 28% drop from 2006 and the lowest level
since 1989.

     The acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two
weeks of June on about 11,000 segments of land and from a sample of about
88,000 farm operators across the US.