June Acreage Report And Grain Stocks Summary

By Dr. Michael Diliberto

LSU AgCenter

The USDA recently released its annual Acreage Report which provides markets with a more accurate idea of spring planting progress and what potential supply implications may be in store for the 2025 crop year. On the demand side, USDA also released its Quarterly Grain Stocks report which shows usage rates between March 1, 2025 and June 1, 2025. These changes in supply levels will impact 2024/25 ending stocks and 2025/256 beginning stock levels which will subsequently be reflected in the July report. Corn planted area for all purposes in 2025 is estimated at 95.2 million acres, up 5% or 4.61 million acres from last year. This represents the third highest planted acreage in the U.S. since 1944. Compared with last year, planted acreage is expected to be up or unchanged in 41 of the 48 estimating States. Area harvested for grain, at 86.8 million acres, is up 5% from last year. Soybean planted area for 2025 is estimated at 83.4 million acres, down 4% from last year. Compared with last year, planted acreage is down or unchanged in 25 of the 29 estimating States. USDA’s Planted Acres report issued on June 30 showed that U.S. cotton growers have planted an estimated 10.1 million acres of upland and Pima cotton in 2025 – down 10% from 2024’s final acreage figures. The report reflects a 2.3% acreage increase from USDA’s Prospective Plantings estimate of 9.87 million acres on March 31. For 2025, the upland area is estimated at 9.95 million acres, down 9% from last year. American Pima plantings are estimated at 171,000 acres, down 17% from 2024. According to the report, compared with last year, upland planted area showed decreases in 15 of the 17 major cotton-producing states. The largest decrease comes from Texas, where upland acres dropped by 250,000 acres from last year. Georgia, Mississippi, and North Carolina all show decreases of 100,000 acres or more from their 2024 totals, while Louisiana reports record low planted cotton acres. Only Kansas showed a small increase in planted acres (7%), while California upland acres were essentially unchanged from 2024.

On a regional basis, total planted cotton acres in the Southeast for 2025 totaled 1.96 million acres across Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia – down 15.5% from 2024. In the Mid-South, planted acres dropped to 1.64 million acres – down 17.5%. In the Southwest, estimated upland planted acres dropped 4.7% to a reported 6.21 million acres, while upland cotton acres in the West decreased 12.6% to 139,000 acres. The all rice planted area for 2025 is estimated at 2.7 million acres, 8% down from last year. Nationally, rice acreage fell from a planned 2.68 million acres in March to 2.64 million planted acres, according to USDA. Long grain rice acres fell from 2.275 million to 2.030 million acres in the June report, a decrease of 245,000 acres (10.8%). Long grain rice acreage in Arkansas is projected to fall by 190,000 acres to 1.140 million due to the adverse spring weather. However, combined medium- and short-grain rice planting are projected to increase by 13,000 and 6,000 acres, respectively according to the June report. In Mach, Arkansas rice growers projected planting about 1.46 million acres of rice, flirting with the high end of what’s considered possible on available soils. In June, that estimate fell by 14% to about 1.26 million acres. The area planted to sugarbeets is estimated to decline from 1.1043 million acres to 1.0872 million acres in 2025, a decrease of 1.6%. Harvested acreage for sugarcane (sugar and seed) in 2025 is estimated at 930,000 acres, 1 percent up from last year.

Corn futures finished between 2 1/4 cents lower and 3 cents higher with only the now lightly traded July contract higher on support from a lack of deliveries against it and slow cash corn movement. New-crop contracts were pressured further by largely favorable Midwest weather conditions as today’s crop acreage and June 1st grain stocks numbers were neutral relative to trade expectations. Looking at state-by-state acreage totals in the USDA Crop Acreage report, we see that while total U.S. corn planted acreage was estimated at 95.203 million, just 123,000 below the March planting intentions, combined acreage in the top 5 growing states of Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska and Indiana was down 500,000 acres from March estimates. The weekly USDA Crop Progress report did not contain supportive news for the corn market. USDA rated U.S. corn crop conditions 73% good/excellent as of Sunday up from 70% a week earlier and 67% a year earlier. The crop rating was also 3 points above the average of trade expectations and was the highest for late June in 5 years, matching the rating from 2020. USDA estimated that 8% of the crop was silking, behind last year’s pace of 10%, but ahead of the 5-yr. avg. of 6%.

Soybean futures finished a choppy trading session anywhere from 3 1/2 cents lower to 3 cents higher as USDA’s Crop Acreage and Grain Stocks reports did little to move the price needle. A slightly largerthan-expected June 1 stocks total was offset by a marginally lower U.S. acreage number. A weaker dollar was supportive for prices, while favorable U.S. weather kept a tight lid on price gains. USDA rated the U.S. crop 66% good/excellent as of Sunday, unchanged from a week earlier and 1 percentage point below a year earlier. The rating was also 1 point below the avg. of trade expectations. USDA estimated 17% of the crop was blooming, 1 point ahead of the 5-yr. avg, while 3% was already setting pods, also 1 point ahead of average. Cotton futures ended lower, sinking after a bearish USDA acreage report. July cotton settled down 1.24 cents to 66.28, and December cotton was down 1.19 cents to 68.13, after trading a range of 67.76 to 69.48. Cotton had made a seven-week high on Friday before pulling back. Along with the higher-thanexpected acreage, crop ratings are also on the rise: this afternoon USDA said the cotton crop was 51% good/excellent, up from 47% the prior week. In Texas, that rating jumped to 40% from 35% the prior week. Rice futures were down 15 to 15 ½ cents. July settled at $12.95 ½. September rice was down 15 ½ cents to $13.33, after trading a range of $13.19 to $13.65. Rice conditions are good: this afternoon USDA said the crop was 80% good/excellent, up from 78% last week although down from 82% a year ago

Corn stocks in all positions on June 1, 2025 totaled 4.64 billion bushels, down 7 percent from June 1st , 2024. Of the total stocks, 2.56 billion bushels are stored on farms, down 16 percent from a year earlier. Off-farm stocks, at 2.09 billion bushels, are up 6 percent from a year ago. The March - May 2025 indicated disappearance is estimated at 3.50 billion bushels, compared with 3.36 billion bushels during the same period last year. Soybeans stored in all positions on June 1, 2025 totaled 1.01 billion bushels, up 4 percent from June 1, 2024. On-farm stocks totaled 412 million bushels, down 12 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 596 million bushels, are up 18 percent from a year ago. Indicated disappearance for the March - May 2025 quarter totaled 903 million bushels, up 3 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Rough rice stocks in all positions on June 1, 2025 totaled 69.7 million hundredweight (cwt), up 15 percent from the total on June 1, 2024. Stocks held on farms totaled 10.4 million cwt and off-farm stocks totaled 59.3 million cwt. Long grain varieties accounted for 69 percent of the total rough rice, medium grain accounted for 30 percent, and short grain varieties accounted for 1 percent. Milled rice stocks in all positions totaled 6.09 million cwt, up 26 percent from a year ago. Milled rice stocks were comprised of 4.01 million cwt of whole kernel rice and 2.08 million cwt of second heads, screenings, and brewers rice.