By DOUG SCHMITZ
Iowa Correspondent

KEOTA, Iowa — When John Heisdorffer first laid eyes on the USDA’s March 31 Planting Intentions Report, the latest figures took him by surprise, along with most U.S. farmers – especially when factoring in last year’s high input costs, which most producers thought would drive up soybean acreage numbers in 2009.

“Estimated acreage numbers have been moving around in a fairly wide range,” said Heisdorffer, a Keota soybean farmer and president of the Iowa Soybean Assoc. (ISA) in Urbandale. “This shows farmers are going to wait until the very last (minute) in making their final planting decisions.”

According to the report by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), U.S. soybean acres are expected to hit 76 million, up slightly from 2008, while corn is expected to be at 85 million acres, down 1 percent from 2008.

In Iowa, soybean growers’ planting intentions are projected to reach 9.85 million acres, up 100,000 from 2008, which would be the third largest acreage since 1949, behind 2007 and 2008.

Heisdorffer said the reason Iowa farmers are choosing to wait to make their final planting decisions this spring is because many factors will come into play, including grain and fertilizer prices and the weather.

“I would anticipate that the markets will attempt to send a signal to encourage more soybeans,” he added. “We remain focused on the fact that, long-term, the world needs more soybeans, and the U.S. is in the best position to provide them and do so with consistent quality and consistent availability.”

Reduced state corn acreage
Darrel McAlexander, a Sidney corn grower who chairs the Iowa Corn Promotion Board (ICPB), said state corn growers are also surprised by the planting report, especially since it predicted Iowa farmers would reduce their corn acreage by 100,000.

“An overlooked part of the report is the fact that Iowa’s projections are exactly the same as last year,” he said. “The past five years, we have either planted what was predicted by this March report or we have planted just slightly over it.

“I see that we still have corn being delivered from on-farm storage and carryover is up from last year. The report tells me two specific things: that corn growers continue to step up to the plate each spring, and that we will continue to supply more than enough corn for food, feed and fuel needs.”

Kirk Leeds, ISA CEO, said because the report’s soybean numbers are so far under the average trade estimate, he’s now questioning their accuracy.

“Regardless, even these lower projected numbers would result in record soybean acres in the U.S.,” he said. “That is a reminder of why we continue to invest checkoff dollars to expand domestic and international demand, which is the very reason that ISA currently has a group in China doing just that.”

Leeds said production at this level is also a reminder of why the federal government must continue to seek additional trade agreements to open up markets: “Now is not the time for the U.S. to withdraw from international trade efforts.”

According to the ISA, China’s demand for U.S. soybeans – specifically Iowa soybeans – is expected to continue to grow in spite of a slowing economy.

An ISA delegation, which includes Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, is on a Chinese mission to meet current and potential buyers and users of U.S. soybean products, and to learn about the communist country’s growing demands for food.

Following a meeting with staff of an agricultural trade office, Leeds said the ISA is hearing emphatically that they anticipate the growth to continue. “Indeed, the demand for U.S. soybeans will continue to be very strong for the next several months,” he said, “if not several years.”