Print edition: 
CHICAGO — Farmers will plant more soybeans than ever this year and the second-biggest area with corn since World War II, according to a survey of growers by Allendale Inc. Wheat acreage is expected to plummet.
Soybean plantings will rise 2.1 percent to 79.111 million acres from a record 77.451 million last year, Allendale said today in its 21st annual survey of farmers. Production will total 3.338 billion bushels, down from 3.359 billion last year, the biggest crop ever, based on a projected national yield of 42.7 bushels an acre.
The area sown with corn will total 90.152 million acres, up 4.2 percent from 86.482 million last year, Allendale said. The crop will be a record 13.243 billion bushels, based on a national yield of 160.4 bushels an acre, according to the McHenry, Ill.-based farm-market adviser and brokerage, which didn't disclose the number of farmers surveyed.
The combined area planted with winter and spring wheat will decline 9.6 percent to 53.467 million acres, from 59.133 million in 2009, the survey showed.
The Department of Agriculture last month forecast corn acreage would rise about 2.5 million acres to 89 million acres and soybean plantings would decline about 500,000 acres to 77 million. The area planted with wheat was estimated to fall 9 percent to 53.8 million.
The USDA on March 31 is scheduled to release the results of a national survey of farmers' planting intentions, taken during the first two weeks of this month.
Corn is the biggest U.S. crop, valued at $48.6 billion in 2009, followed by soybeans at $31.8 billion, government figures show. Wheat is in fourth place, behind hay, with a value of $10.6 billion.
