The soybean market could be very promising for farmers with a crop in this summer. The U-S Agriculture Department has released a survey it took in June on how many acres of soybeans were planted this year. USDA’s Keith Collins says it’s the first really hard numbers on how many beans are in the ground.Collins says the report surprised the market, because it showed far less soybean planting than expected. In March, farmers had signaled they’d plant about one-point-three million more acres than it turns out they’ve actually put in. Collins explains the fewer beans planted could mean higher prices.It turns out the cold, damp spring in Minnesota and the Dakotas made farmers give up planting soybeans, and down in the Delta they put in cotton instead. That means soybean acreage well below what was expected. While it all could point to good prices for farmers who did plant soybeans, Collins says it’s still not a guarantee.He says record large crops in Argentina and Brazil are competition, and world economies slowing down will cool the export market. A lot of surpluses in the U-S have kept down prices. But far fewer acres have been planted to soybeans than the USDA had expected, which is bound to have an upward force on prices.
