Total U.S. crop area moved higher in 2021 as producers increased acreage to meet demand for several key crops, especially corn and soybeans.

The USDA says planted area for corn was up 1.883 million acres and soybeans climbed by 4.471 million, with acreage also rising for sorghum, winter wheat, tobacco, potatoes, canola, and rice.

That helped cancel out lower acreage for other crops, taking total U.S. planted area to 317.215 million acres, a jump of 7.101 million from 2020 and 14.142 million from 2019.

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