The USDA released the annual Prospective Plantings report yesterday, offering a first look at 2026 planted acreage projections for corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton. The total projected 2026/2027 planted acres is 223.8 million acres, down 1.5 million from 225.3 million in 2025/2026.

Conducted through surveys in early March, the report showed:

>> Corn: 95.3M acres, down 3% YOY
>> Soybeans: 84.7M acres, up 4% YOY
>> Wheat: 43.8M acres, down 3% YOY
>> Cotton: 9.64M acres, up 4% YOY

The report findings offered little surprise, staying consistent with most analyst predictions that higher input costs and tighter margins would result in a year-over-year decrease in corn and wheat plantings, with an edge to soybean profitability.

The USDA also released the Quarterly Grain Stocks report on Tuesday, which indicated that soybean and wheat stocks were projected higher than average trade expectations, with corn stocks coming in lower.

Read more commentary on the Prospective Plantings Report and the full USDA report here.