US farmers are off to a better start to planting than the same time last year. In 2019, US farmers struggled with wet weather. This delayed planting significantly and saw a large amount of soybean planting carry on to as late as July.

The quick pace of planting so far this season is also thought to have contributed to a drop in both corn and soybean future prices.

On May 3, 2019, only 21% of corn had been planted. The average area planted from 2015 to 2019 for this time of year is 39% so 2020 is above the average.

8% of corn has emerged so far.

Soybean planting up 18% on 2019

The area of soybeans planted is well ahead for the time of year. 23% of soybeans are estimated to be planted so far this season. This is up from 8% the week previous.

On May 3, 2019, just 5% of soybeans were estimated to have been planted. The average area planted for the time of year is 11%.

This season some of those states are some of the furthest ahead with regard to planting. For example, Illinois has 56% of its corn planted compared to 10% at this time last year.

Missouri is actually behind on planting for the same time last year. As of May 3 it had 44% of its corn planted, compared to 48% at the same time last year.

Prospective plantings

The Prospective Plantings Report released on March 29, 2020, by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that corn area will increase by 4% this season to 92.8 million acres, while the area of soybeans is expected to decrease by 5% from last year to 84.6 million acres.

As less vehicles travel the road amidst the Covid-19 pandemic the price of corn has dropped dramatically as a result of reduced ethanol use. This may impact on the area of corn planted.