Iowa farmers expect to plant 11-percent more soybeans this spring compared to 2013. That’s according to a new survey by AgriSource — a grain marketing, commodity brokerage and crop insurance company. Keith Gehling of AgriSource says the plans by Iowa farmers to plant 10.3 million acres of soybean are based on several factors. “We saw some pretty poor corn yields in 2012 and 2013 in parts of Iowa. Some producers are facing rootworm issues, high input costs, and cheaper corn prices on the Board of Trade,” Gehling says. “Some of these guys see an opportunity to break their corn on corn rotation and possibly raise some pretty good bean yields on those acres in 2014.”

Iowa farmers expect to plant 13.3 million acres of corn, down 2.2-percent compared to last year. However, Gehling says many farmers will wait until later this spring to make final planting decisions. “We put a question on the survey at the Farm Power Show about what their confidence level is and this year, confidence is about 50-percent in their planning intentions. The last several years, it’s been 75-percent. That tells us that guys are possibly waiting until March or April to see how the markets and rainfall play out,” Gehling says.

Across the country, farmers are expected to plant 93.2 million acres of corn, marking a 1.8-percent decline from 2013. U.S. farmers expect to plant 82 million acres of soybeans, an increase of 7-percent. The AgriSource survey was conducted in large part during the Iowa Power Farming Show in late January in conjunction with the Iowa-Nebraska Equipment Dealers Association.

(Radio Iowa)