Foreign media: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has suffered reputational damage due to a significant revision of the data on corn planting area in the United States.
From June 2025 to January 2026, the estimated corn planting area was significantly adjusted upward from the initial data. The final harvested area increased by 5.2% from the June estimate, reaching 91.3 million acres, leading to a drop in corn prices by more than 5%. This revision has raised market doubts about the reliability of USDA data.
An internal review by the USDA found that staff reductions have hindered data processing, and farmers' willingness to participate in surveys has declined, making data collection and processing more difficult. The USDA plans to improve data estimation methods but has not considered increasing farmer surveys at this time.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1856754589249543/
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