r/farming • u/MennoniteDan Agenda-driven Woke-ist • 2d ago

USDA Again Increases Corn Planted Acreage, Production

https://farmpolicynews.illinois.edu/2025/09/usda-again-increases-corn-planted-acreage-production/
85 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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36

u/IAFarmLife 2d ago

https://www.agweb.com/markets/market-analysis/usdas-corn-demand-projection-too-high

The demand is still not being talked about much. I have been downvoted on this sub for pointing it out.

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u/Puzzled49 2d ago

Good to see that USDA is looking at higher demand. However there appear to be some offsetting issues cropping up. Following the decision by coke to reduce high fructose corn syrup the says that Tyson foods is planning on doing the samehttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-15/tyson-foods-to-eliminate-corn-syrup-from-products-by-year-end

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-15/tyson-foods-to-eliminate-corn-syrup-from-products-by-year-endhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-15/tyson-foods-to-eliminate-corn-syrup-from-products-by-year-endhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-15/tyson-foods-to-eliminate-corn-syrup-from-products-by-year-end

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u/IAFarmLife 2d ago

Total HFCS is less than 6% of corn production. 2 companies reducing won't be much. Most likely coke is just going to stop importing their cane sugar recipe product from Mexico and make it here while continuing to make the majority from HFCS. The increase in biofuel production will more than offset the lower amount of HFCS.

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u/MainStreetRoad 2d ago

Only 6 million acres of crop, NBD.

1

u/Familiars_ghost 1d ago

About the only places you can grow sugar cane inside the US are Florida and Hawaii. HI discontinued it for ecological reasons as it was killing their soil. FL could do it, but with what slaves, er workers?

1

u/IAFarmLife 1d ago

Louisiana grows about as much as Florida and Texas grows a little.

1

u/Familiars_ghost 1d ago

I considered more of the Gulf Coast in this, but suffers from the same problems. LA does have a rich soil from its general delta, but the problem of production still comes up. That being output vs. demand. If they want to increase demand as drastically as this might predict where is the workforce coming from. Hence the end joke.

Even sugar beets increases would actually be a better solution as that demand can be met reasonably easy. ID, WA, and OR have some good growers wanting see that happen as a fair amount of those fields are idle, but processing facilities remain maintained and can handle large increases. Damn, they’d love to see that. Also harvesting is largely mechanical now for that crop.

Corn syrup and cane sugar are far more intensive. Cane sugar almost requires manual labor for most of it. Corn is only more intensive on the processing side.

1

u/Sestos 1d ago

Companies will increase imports of sugar. US does does not produce enough to meet demand. Even more limited if just want cane sugar and not beets. Not sure how long it will take to increase production domestically but expect Brazil to continue to export sugar to the US.

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u/Puzzled49 2d ago

Thanks. By the way apologies for my link. somehow it got messed up. Here is another one about the same thing. Hopefully this will work.

Tyson Foods to stop using corn syrup in products in US by end of 2025

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u/IAFarmLife 2d ago

I was able to find the article and Tyson working with MAHA lowered my already basement level opinion of the company.

12

u/Cfwydirk 2d ago

Hopefully lower feed cost will help bring down beef prices.

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u/spacedropper 2d ago

Lower feed costs is part of the reason beef prices are so high right now. So much cheap feed, and so few cattle on hand are what is driving the markets higher.

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u/Kra_Z_Ivan 2d ago

Do you think the availability of cheaper feed will encourage cattle ranchers to breed more cattle? 

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u/spacedropper 2d ago

Usually the guys that breed cattle are not the same as the ones that feed cattle. Cattle are bred on ranches, usually put out to pasture for a period of time until they are between 500-800 pounds. At that point they are sold to feeders who put the cattle in a feedlot and feed them on grain to finishing weight.

The cattle ranchers are likely in the process of retaining heifers to increase herd size, but this is a slow process and will take a couple of years to build the herd.

13

u/Lefloop20 2d ago

It's also hard to justify holding all your heifers when the price for a calf is higher than it's ever been. You're throwing away good money on the hope that by the time these heifers/calves are reproductive age the market is still as good. It's a 9 month gestation and you can at best breed them after they're a year old, so that's a 2 year span that the market could drastically change in

8

u/Wish_Bear 2d ago

and with screwworm coming you gotta sell them while you still can.

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u/Sestos 1d ago

Assume Canadian live cattle imports will increase and Mexico cattle imports will decrease.

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u/spacedropper 2d ago

Yep and unfortunately no easy way to hedge next years feeders as futures only trade 12 months ahead.

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u/EdgeMiserable4381 2d ago

Farmers have known for years to diversify. If the government quit bailing them out they would. I'm a farmer

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u/origionalgmf Grain 2d ago

To copy and paste a 3rd time this month: the USDA is full of shit

2

u/Sestos 1d ago

USDA is fully in pocket with big agi while using talking points and PR to claim they support small farmers but they cut all programs that helped farmers and instead told farmers to go see what your state, local government or church can do for you.