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We polled our digital panel about a surprise in last week's USDA report to get a sense of what they thought happened

Willie Vogt

July 9, 2020

2 Min Read
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OPERATING SUPPORT: The latest Farm Progress Panel shows that a vast majority of farmers had no trouble securing operating money for 2020, though nearly a third report some issues.aydinynr/iStock/Getty Images Plus

The Farm Progress Panel is a chance for subscribers to share their thoughts on regular questions sent by text weekly. The approach is to take a quick pulse on top ideas that may be circulating around farm country.

This week, the question centered on a missing 5 million acres from that last USDA crop report. Just ahead of tomorrow's WASDE look at the crop situation, panelists were asked about what they thought happened. In the March report, USDA estimated the 2020 corn crop at nearly 97 million acres, topping most analyst estimates. Last week, the number dropped to 92 million acres.

So what did panelists say about the report? Nearly 45% said that "we were never going to plant that much corn" acknowledging that those early numbers were wrong from the start. And early estimates of those numbers (including a Farm Futures survey that also surprised the staff), did hit that high. But that was pre-pandemic. And it's difficult to know what else may have been going on during the survey.

About 16% said it was too wet to plant corn and they switched to soybeans, while a similar number reported in the Panel that some acres won't be planted this year. And there's an estimate that prevent plant is playing a role in the missing crop.

More than one-fifth replied that they thought "someone needed cheap corn" perhaps sharing a thought about continued skepticism about the nature of those USDA crop numbers. Of course, traders will be watching that July 10 report for any other indications on crop and market moves.

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SURVEY RESULTS: Here's a rundown of the latest Farm Progress Panel, which polled members on their thoughts concerning 5 million lost corn acres in last week's USDA report

The Farm Progress Panel is a smart phone poll produced several times a year. Farmers with a smart phone can be part of the panel simply by texting PANEL to 20505. If you subscribe you'll get a confirmation text to reply to, so we can make sure you are opting in to take part.

To get access to top news every day from the Farm Progress family of websites, you can text FARM to 20505 and start receiving daily texts the next day. It's another way to keep up on what's happening in agriculture.

About the Author(s)

Willie Vogt

Willie Vogt has been covering agricultural technology for more than 40 years, with most of that time as editorial director for Farm Progress. He is passionate about helping farmers better understand how technology can help them succeed, when appropriately applied.

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