More Soybeans and Cotton Expected in Tennessee

Published: Mar. 28, 2024 - Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Nashville, Tn. – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the Prospective Plantings report today, showing Tennessee farmers intend to grow more soybeans, cotton and hay in 2024, while raising less corn, wheat and tobacco.

Soybean acreage in Tennessee was expected to total 1.65 million acres, up 50,000 acres from the previous year. U.S. soybean planted area for 2024 is estimated at 86.5 million acres, up 3 percent from last year.

Farmers in Tennessee intend to plant 930,000 acres of corn, 10,000 lower than 2023. U.S. corn growers intend to plant 90.0 million acres in 2024, down 5 percent from last year.

Upland cotton acreage to be planted in Tennessee is forecast at 300,000, up 35,000 acres from 2023. The U.S. total upland cotton acreage is estimated at 10.5 million acres, up 4 percent from the previous year.

Burley tobacco growers in Tennessee intend to set 2,000 acres for harvest, down 1,000 acres from 2023. For the burley producing states, growers intend to set 25,000 acres.

Producers intend to set 3,800 acres of dark-fired tobacco in Tennessee, down 1,300 acres from the previous year. Acreage set to dark-air tobacco was estimated at 1,000 acres, down 200 acres from 2023.

Winter wheat seeded by Tennessee farmers in the fall of 2023 totaled 380,000 acres, down 90,000 acres from previous year. Seeded acreage for the nation was 34.1 million acres, down 1 percent from 2023.

Farmers in the state intend to harvest 1.72 million acres of all hay, up 4,000 acres from 2023. U.S. farmers intend on harvesting 51.6 million acres of hay in 2024, down 2 percent from last year.

Data for the Prospective Plantings report is collected from a sample of farmers during the first two weeks of March. The Acreage report will be published June 2