Economics May Favor More Corn Acres in 2021

As of right now, corn has an edge over soybeans in the acreage battle shaping up ahead of the bulk of this spring’s row crop planting, based largely on considerably higher variable costs for the latter crop. The investment for soybeans is simply higher than corn right now, so it’s up to the market to determine whether that crop will offer higher revenue potential. But given the market variable, there’s a slightly higher chance that corn will generate less than $300/acre (20% versus 8% for soybeans). So as it stands currently, though soybeans have a smaller likelihood of revenue loss than corn, the crop also has less upside potential than corn, too, so a fundamental economic decision between the two ultimately becomes a matter of risk tolerance. It’s just one of a cadre of variables to consider in making last-minute planting decisions on your flex acres to maximize revenue potential. See more analysis.