Delta Farm Press
USDA released the 2026 Prospective Plantings Report on March 31. Nationally, producers intend to plant fewer corn acres and more soybeans and cotton. Corn acreage is projected at 95.3 million acres, down 3.5% from the 2025 actual planted acreage, while soybean acreage is expected to increase 4.3% to 84.7 million acres.
Similarly, cotton acreage is forecast to rise 3.8% to 9.64 million acres. These shifts reflect relative price signals and input cost considerations that have increasingly favored soybeans and cotton over corn in many areas.