View of field of cord seedlings in springThe March 31st USDA Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks report provides key insights into 2025 crop projections. Farmers expect to plant 95.3 million acres (ma) of corn, up 5% from last year. This exceeds average pre-report estimates.

Soybean acreage is projected at 83.5 ma. This is down 4% from last year.

Wheat acreage is estimated at 45.4 ma. This is a 2% decline from last year. It marks the second-lowest wheat planting since 1919. Winter wheat is projected at 33.3 ma. Hard red winter wheat is estimated to make up 23.6 ma of this total. There will be 6.09 ma of soft red winter wheat and 3.66 ma of white winter wheat.

Spring wheat acreage is expected to decrease by 6% to 10 ma. Durum wheat acreage will decline by 2% to 2.02 ma.

Cotton planting is projected at 9.87 ma. This is a 12% decrease from 2024.

The Grain Stocks report shows domestic corn stocks at 8.15 billion bushels (bb). This is a decrease of 2% from last year. On-farm stocks declined, but off-farm stocks increased. Soybean stocks totaled 1.91 bb. This is an increase of 4%. Off-farm storage climbed by 13%. Wheat stocks increased 14% to 1.24 bb.

The reports indicate a bearish outlook for corn and a bullish sentiment for soybeans and wheat.

Read more from the USDA Prospective Plantings Report here.