June 30, 2011 the US Department of Agriculture released their estimate of the planted acres in the US for several crops.

Our industry waits for this report each year. It is important to us because it gives us the official basis for understanding what the anticipated production might be of several crops that are important to the industry. Crops you will find mentioned in the report include:

• Sunflower, both oil and non-oil
• Proso millet
• Sorghum or milo

Acreage for corn and soybeans are also included. Because the plantings of these two crops will influence the acres available for the sunflower, millet and milo used in our industry, it is important to monitor the corn and soybean acres in order to get a complete picture of the situation.

You may review the pdf of the USDA report by following this link.