By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A picture of the upcoming growing season is taking shape as planting intention information was recently released by the USDA; the report from the Kentucky Field Office of the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) noted more corn than soybeans will be planted in the state.

“Corn is up 100,000 acres from last year,” said Leland Brown, Kentucky office director. “And our soybeans are down 60,000 acres from last year. This may be from farmers wanting to change their crop rotation. That could be part of it.”

Brown also said winter wheat had fallen from last year’s numbers, down 60,000 acres. He added these figures are merely early planting intentions as of March 1 and that final numbers could be different as conditions change throughout the spring. Specifically the report states corn acreage intensions for the 2010 season stood at 1.32 million acres, while soybean planting was expected to total 1.37 million. Winter wheat seeded in the fall of 2009 totaled 450,000 acres. Corn and wheat numbers reflect a similar trend nationally, while soybean production in the U.S. for 2010 shows a slight increase.

Tobacco production in Kentucky is expected to decrease as well. Burley growers are looking to set 70,000 acres for harvest, down 5,000 from the 2009 crop, according to the report. The outlook for other burley-producing states is similar and expected to be 4 percent below 2009, at 97,800 acres.

Kentucky’s dark-fired and dark-air tobacco planting is also expected to fall by about 100 acres each. The trend is the same nationally. According to the USDA, “the U.S. all-tobacco area for harvest in 2010 is expected to be 334,020 acres, down 6 percent from 2009 and 2008.”

The exception looks to be all cigar-type tobacco intentions, which stand at 5,570 acres. That’s 33 percent above last year and 9 percent higher than 2008, the USDA reported. The Kentucky NASS report notes all hay production will likely decline in 2010, as farmers intend to harvest 2.45 million acres, down 70,000 from 2009. The temperatures and amount of precipitation received this year will affect those numbers, as a drier summer would favor producers cutting more hay to feed their livestock.

Dr. Jim Herbek, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture grain specialist, said planting intentions will depend on the kind of weather conditions producers see throughout the planting season. “If we have another wet, rainy spring like we did a year ago, those could change as we get later in the season. If a wet spring occurs, we might have slightly more soybean acreage because the corn acreage would be too delayed to get it in on time,” he said. “But things look good at this point.”

The stock report

The Kentucky NASS also released grain stocks numbers at the end of last month. The report shows corn stocks in the state totaled 65.2 million bushels as of March 1, an increase of 13 percent compared to March 2009. On-farm stocks totaled 43 million bushels, up 5 million from last year, while corn stored in off-farm facilities totaled 22.2 million bushels, up 2.44 million from March 2009, according to the report. Those off-farm facilities included grain mills, elevators, warehouses, terminals and processors.

Soybean and wheat stocks information was for off-farm totals only. Soybeans stocks totaled 5.54 million bushels, while all-wheat stocks were at 10.7 million bushels, up 1.17 million from March 2009. That increase was the largest March 1 stocks on record, up 12 percent above the previous record set in 2009.