American farmers shifted their planting plans this season, leaning a little harder into soybeans while pulling back on corn, according to the latest Acreage report released June 30 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).
The report estimates that 95.3 million acres of corn were planted across the country in 2026, a 3 percent drop from last year. Soybeans, on the other hand, moved in the opposite direction, with planted area estimated at 85.4 million acres, up 5 percent from 2025. For growers watching the markets and weighing their options each spring, the numbers tell a familiar story of farmers responding to prices, input costs, and conditions on the ground.
To put these figures together, NASS surveyed roughly 90,300 farm operators during the first two weeks of June, following up on the Prospective Plantings report from back in March. The goal was simple: find out what farmers actually put in the ground, not just what they intended to plant.
On the corn side, growers expect to harvest 87.4 million acres for grain, down 4 percent from the previous year. Biotech varieties continue to dominate, accounting for 92 percent of all corn acres planted, though that figure slipped a bit from 2025. Soybeans are expected to be harvested on 84.4 million acres, a 5 percent increase, with 95 percent of the crop planted using herbicide resistant seed varieties.
Cotton growers expanded their footprint this season. All cotton planted area came in at 9.85 million acres, 6 percent above last year. Upland cotton accounted for 9.70 million acres, also up 6 percent, while American Pima reached 150,000 acres, marking another 6 percent gain. Ninety-four percent of upland cotton acres were planted with biotech varieties, down three percentage points from a year ago.
Wheat, meanwhile, saw across-the-board declines. All wheat planted area dropped to 42.7 million acres, down 6 percent. Winter wheat fell 5 percent to 31.5 million acres, other spring wheat slid 6 percent to 9.39 million acres, and durum wheat took the steepest cut, falling 16 percent to 1.83 million acres.
Alongside the Acreage report, NASS also released its quarterly Grain Stocks and Rice Stocks reports, offering a snapshot of supplies on hand as of June 1. Corn stocks told a story of abundance, totaling 5.29 billion bushels, up 14 percent from the same time last year. On-farm corn stocks climbed 16 percent, while off-farm stocks rose 12 percent.
Soybeans in storage reached 1.06 billion bushels, up 5 percent from a year earlier. Interestingly, the picture differed depending on where those beans were sitting. On-farm soybean stocks fell 11 percent, while off-farm stocks jumped 16 percent. All wheat stored totaled 920 million bushels, up 8 percent, with on-farm stocks down 4 percent and off-farm stocks up 11 percent. Durum wheat stocks stood out, rising 20 percent to 33.5 million bushels.
Rice supplies also built up over the year. Rough rice stocks totaled 74.8 million hundredweight, up 7 percent from June 1, 2025, with on-farm stocks surging 20 percent. Long grain varieties made up the bulk of the total at 73 percent, followed by medium grain at 26 percent and short grain at just 1 percent. Milled rice stocks came in at 5.93 million hundredweight, down 3 percent from a year ago.
Together, the reports paint a picture of a farm economy carrying healthy supplies and growers making thoughtful choices about what to plant. Behind every one of these numbers is a family, a operation, and a season of hard work, planning, and faith in the year ahead.
For complete details, all NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov, and a recorded video of the live briefing can be found on YouTube @usdanass.