Winter Storms and Flooding Affecting Planting Intentions

(OMAHA, NE) Flooding along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers are causing catastrophic damage to communities, infrastructure and agriculture. A so-called “bomb cyclone” pushed across the Midwest over the weekend leading to at least two fatalities and thousands of livestock losses as well. This comes at a time when USDA is preparing to release their annual Prospective Plantings Report, outlining acreage intentions from farmers in 2019. On a side note, FC Stone is estimating 2019 corn acreage at 90.4 million acres and soybean plantings on 87.7 million acres. USDA’s Agricultural Outlook Forum in February anticipated corn seedings on 92 million acres – a three-million acre increase over 2018 – and soybean acreage at 85 million acres – off four-million from last year.