Farmers planted a surprisingly large crop of corn this spring, most likely easing pressure on food prices and ethanol producers while trimming corn growers’ profits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that farmers nationwide planted 87 million acres of corn, the second-largest amount since 1946, and an increase of a million acres from last year.

Corn futures on the Chicago Board of Trade plunged the market limit of 30 cents a bushel after the crop estimate was issued. Analysts said it could be headed even lower in coming days.

Iowa growers planted 13.7 million acres of corn this spring, compared with 13.3 million acres last year.

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Des Moines Register
Philip Brasher, Dan Piller