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Agronomist says farmers still considering switching to soybeans
An agronomist and crop consultant says several farmers are still talking about switching some acres from corn to soybeans.
Scott Rowntree with Pioneer works with farmers in south-central Wisconsin, from north of Madison to the Illinois line. He says, “It’s a little bit early to know, but I would say the past really three-to-four weeks, we’ve seen a number of growers really interested in shifting a lot more acres over to soybeans, just the way the markets are, (and) the economics.”
Rountree thinks more farmers will look at corn demand and make the last-minute change. “Certain ethanol plants in the area are really ratcheting back in terms of overall production from their perspective, so a lot bigger acreage shift to soybeans I think we’ll see here throughout the planting season.”
USDA predicted U.S. farmers would plant 94 million acres of corn, but that was before coronavirus impacted motor vehicle travel. The American Coalition for Ethanol says more than half of U.S. ethanol production capacity is already offline.
