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U.S. soybean acres expected to be up in 2026

The co-founder of AgMarket.net says he expects U.S. farmers to plant more soybeans than a year ago.

“Last year, almost every state was down on bean acres. That should tell you we’re going to plant a few more beans this year.”

Matt Bennett, who also farms in central Illinois, says increasing fertilizer prices also point to more bean acres.

“Another factor I would mention would be cash in the farmer’s hands.”  He says, “Is that going to force some guys to plant soybeans this year due to the lower investment?”

He tells Brownfield that he’s currently estimating U.S. corn planting to be around 95 million acres in 2026.

“That would be a drop of 3.8.”  He says, “We’ve just had a couple three years in a row with very few prevent plant acres. If you do end up at 95 or less, I think that’s going to be supportive towards the market because if you do get into a prevent plant type year, this market’s going to be very reactive.”

Bennett says record demand for U.S. corn and increased crop insurance subsidies could pull some unexpected acres back to corn this year, but even so he doesn’t expect plantings to be near last year’s record 98.8 million acres.

The USDA’s 2026 Prospective Plantings report is set to be released on March 31^st.

AUDIO: Matt Bennett – AgMarket.net