{"id":23429,"date":"2026-02-19T16:01:33","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:01:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-agriculture-department-boosts-crop-prices-forecasts-farm-acreage-changes\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T16:01:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T21:01:33","slug":"federal-agriculture-department-boosts-crop-prices-forecasts-farm-acreage-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/federal-agriculture-department-boosts-crop-prices-forecasts-farm-acreage-changes\/","title":{"rendered":"Federal Agriculture Department Boosts Crop Prices, Forecasts Farm Acreage Changes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n

Federal agriculture officials have announced higher prices for three major crops – corn, soybeans, and wheat – during the Department of Agriculture’s annual Agricultural Outlook Forum, with the increases tied to anticipated changes in farming patterns.<\/p>

The department’s chief economist Justin Benavidez announced a reduction in total expected planted acreage of approximately 1.5 million acres for the 2026 growing season. According to Benavidez, the most significant development involves farmers switching between corn and soybean plantings.<\/p>

“The big story here, the swap between corn and bean acres, leaving us with about 94 million acres of,” Benavidez stated during the forum presentation.<\/p>

These projected shifts in crop allocation are driving the upward price adjustments across the three commodity markets, reflecting supply and demand expectations for the coming growing seasons.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced increased prices for major crops including corn, soybeans, and wheat during its annual Agricultural Outlook Forum. The price adjustments come as officials predict farmers will shift how they allocate their planting acreage in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[862],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/news-1771534892812.jpg?fit=400%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbtNqq-65T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45792,"url":"https:\/\/tvdelmarva.com\/wp\/delaware-farmers-shift-away-from-corn-as-iran-conflict-drives-up-fertilizer-costs\/","url_meta":{"origin":23429,"position":0},"title":"Delaware Farmers Shift Away From Corn as Iran Conflict Drives Up Fertilizer Costs","author":"Admin","date":"April 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Agricultural producers across the United States, including Delaware, are planning to reduce corn planting and increase soybean acreage in 2026 due to rising fertilizer and fuel costs linked to the Iran conflict. 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