Minnesota, Wisconsin and three other states will grow soybeans on a record-high number of acres this year, according to a national report issued Tuesday. The estimates provide the first look at 2015's major crops based on farmer surveys and independent observations of what has been planted.
Corn remains king in Minnesota and has been planted on 8.2 million acres, the same as in 2014, according to the estimates by U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Soybeans are a close second in 2015 and are being grown on 7.7 million Minnesota acres, 350,000 acres more than last year and the most in state history. The previous record was 7.5 million acres of soybeans planted in 2003.
Noah Hultgren — who grows corn, sugar beets and other crops on his farm in Raymond near Willmar — said it's no surprise that some farmers have shifted slightly to soybeans.
"Growing corn isn't nearly as profitable as it was a few years ago," he said.
The "input" costs of land rent, seed and fertilizer have not dropped, he said, even though the price per bushel of corn has fallen off considerably.
"In real good [crop price] years, soybeans don't make you as much money, but in the poorer-price years you don't lose as much either," said Hultgren, who also is vice president of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association.
Dave Pazdernik, director of research at Minnesota Soybean, agreed that the main reason more farmers are growing soybeans this year is because the crop seems more likely to provide profits.