Nation's farmers expect to plant slightly more corn

Des Moines Register
By PHILIP BRASHER • pbrasher@dmreg.com • April 1, 2010

Washington, D.C. — Growers nationwide plan to plant nearly 3 percent more corn this year, the government says, and that's good news for livestock farms and ethanol plants, as well as consumers.

The projected increase in plantings, plus a rise in U.S. grain stocks, should provide adequate supplies of corn for feed, ethanol, food ingredients and exports, experts said.

The higher acreage forecast by the Agriculture Department also could prevent a repeat of the political problems that struck corn growers and the biofuel industry when grain and food prices spiked two years ago.

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