U.S. farmers are expected to plant 83.5 million acres of soybeans in 2025, down 4% when compared to last year, according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s annual Prospective Plantings report, released March 31.

Soybean acreage decreases of 300,000 acres or more are expected in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Record high soybean acreage is expected in New York and Ohio. 

Canola planted acres are also expected to fall this year, reaching 2.6 million acres, down 7% when compared to last year’s record high planted area. If realized, planted canola acreage will be the second largest on record.

The Prospective Plantings report provides the first official, survey-based estimates of U.S farmers 2025 planting intentions. NASS’s acreage estimates are based on surveys conducted during the first two weeks of March from a sample of nearly 74,000 farm operators across the country.

The USDA also released its latest quarterly Grain Stocks report on March 31, indicating that soybeans stored as of March 1 totaled 1.91 billion bushels, up 4% when compared the same time last year. Soybean stocks stored on farms are estimated at 877 million bushels, down 6% when compared to last year. Off-farm stocks are estimated at 1.03 million bushels, up 13%. Indicated disappearance for the December 2024 – February 2025 quarter totaled 1.19 billion bushels, up 3% from the same period a year earlier.