(NewsDakota.com/NAFB) – Midwestern farmers are planning to plant more corn and wheat this spring. An Ag Access survey says farmers will add 27 percent more acres to corn and 32 percent more to wheat.

A smaller percentage, at 17 percent, says they’ll increase their soybean acres. The survey results match up with USDA projections at its recent Ag Outlook Forum. The agency forecasts corn plantings at 91 million acres, up from 88.6 million in 2022. Wheat plantings will be 49.5 million acres, up from 45.7 million in 2022.

Soybean acres will total 87.5 million acres, unchanged from last year. USDA Chief Economist Seth Meyers says the increase in wheat acres is in response to tight supplies and high global prices brought on in part by the war in Ukraine.

The Ag Access survey also asked farmers about their top concerns for 2023. Ninety-three percent said their top answer was high input costs.