News

Researcher expects big regional shifts in ’19 soybean acres

A soybean researcher is expecting farmers will plant a lot fewer soybeans next year.  University of Wisconsin’s Shawn Conley says, “Nationally, we’ll be down anywhere from ten to fifteen percent on soybean acres.”

Conley tells Brownfield he expects most of those reduced soybean acreages will happen in the Dakotas, and parts of Minnesota because their traditional Asian markets have closed off.   But, he says farmers in states like Wisconsin might have tough decisions ahead, too.  “We’ve started seeing this in the last two years where ag lenders are unwilling to give an ag loan out for growing corn.”

Which Conley says leaves farmers with few options.  “If you’re not able to get an ag loan to grow corn, farmers are going to grow soybeans or some other crop, but there’s not a lot of other opportunities for other crops out there.

Conley says the “I” states of Illinois, Iowa, and Illinois along with Wisconsin can send soybeans down the Mississippi River for export to other markets.

Conley says two out of three rows of soybeans are normally sold overseas.