US Farmers Plan Huge Crop for 2012

The old saying about ‘making hay while the sun shines’ is unlikely ever to be more true than this year. After planting a near-record number of acres in 2011, US farmers are planning to plant even more in 2012 — an area as large as the state of New Jersey will be added to US planting this year.

That’s according to a survey by Bloomberg News. Corn, soybeans, and wheat will lead the year’s planting, which is expected to cover nearly 227 million acres. Corn planting is expected to cover more than 93 million acres, while soybeans will take up over 75 million acres, and wheat will be planted on more than 57 million acres.

Last year’s high prices are responsible for the larger planting, but the danger of over-supply — and falling prices — is significant at this scale. The US Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release its first forecast for this year’s US crops on February 23rd.