As previously reported, there has been much speculation as to how much more corn will be planted this year due to higher prices, over $4 a bushel and rising, triggered by the growing demand for ethanol.

Anecdotal reports in AgriNews had seed dealers predicting 15%, investor Farm Futures predicting 13%, and the farmers all over the place. That was all put to rest as the U.S.D.A. released its spring-plantings report.

Corn acres will rise 15 percent from last year to 90.454 million, the most since 1944, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in its annual spring-plantings report. Soybean acres may fall 11 percent to 67.14 million, an 11-year low. Analysts in a Bloomberg News survey expected a 12 percent increase in corn acreage and an 8.4 percent drop in soybean plantings.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be devoting more space to this increase and how it will impact the environment.