Corn, Grain Sorghum Plantings To Be Up In Arkansas This Year
Last updated Saturday, March 31, 2007 7:36 PM CDT in News
The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK -- Farmers in Arkansas plan to plant more acres of corn and sorghum this year, while acreage for cotton, rice and soybeans is expected to decrease, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The "Prospective Plantings" report, released Friday, is based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of more than 86,000 farm operators across the country.
In Arkansas, corn acreage is expected to grow by 195 percent. Nationally, corn acreage is expected to rise 15 percent -- or 12 million more acres than in 2006 -- because of favorable prices fueled by an increased demand for ethanol.
Arkansas farmers plan to sow 560,000 acres of corn this year, the largest total acreage since 1956.
"Corn has 'bought' substantial acreage in the state," said Mark Waldrip, who farms near Moro in Lee County.
Grain sorghum in Arkansas is expected to increase by 217 percent. Farmers in the state are expected to plant 200,000 acres of grain sorghum, up from the 63,000 acres planted a year prior.
Arkansas' major crops are expected to drop in acreage. Cotton acreage is expected to decrease 29 percent to 830,000 acres, while rice is expected to drop 13 percent.
"Cotton prices haven't appreciated like the grains, and there's just no fundamental reason for them to ... we've got an abundance of cotton inventory," said Scott Stiles, a Jonesboro-based agricultural economist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.
Growers have been affected by genetically engineered rice that has shown up unexpectedly. Two popular varieties, Cheniere and Clearfield 131, were among the contaminated.
Kyle Baltz, who farms near Pocahontas, plans to plant 200 acres of rice this year, the same number as last year.
"We would have been up (by about 150 acres) had it not been for the Clearfield 131 situation," Baltz said.
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