Corn and soybean futures surged to their session price limits on March 31, 2021, after USDA’s March Prospective Plantings report put both crops’ intended acreage below trade expectations, according to Successful Farming. This was a report about farmers’ planting intentions—not USDA’s separate June Acreage report, which surveys acreage after planting is underway.
What the March 2021 report said
Successful Farming’s March 31, 2021 account reported that USDA estimated 91.1 million acres of corn and 87.6 million acres of soybeans for 2021. Both figures were below the trade expectations cited in the article. The figures below are as reported by Successful Farming; they have not been independently checked here against the original USDA release.
| Crop | USDA estimate reported for 2021 | Trade expectation reported | Outlook Forum estimate reported | Estimate below trade expectation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn | 91.1 million acres | 93.2 million acres | 92.0 million acres | 2.1 million acres |
| Soybeans | 87.6 million acres | 89.9 million acres | 90.0 million acres | 2.3 million acres |
The market’s immediate surprise was the gap between the reported estimates and what traders had expected. The Outlook Forum figures provide another comparison, but the report’s lower-than-expected framing rests on the trade estimates.
How futures settled on March 31
Successful Farming reported that the listed corn and soybean contracts each gained the full daily price limit then in effect. These are historical settlement prices from March 31, 2021, not current quotes.
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| Crop and contract | March 31, 2021 settlement | Change that session |
|---|---|---|
| May corn | $5.64½ per bushel | Up 25 cents |
| July corn | $5.47½ per bushel | Up 25 cents |
| December corn | $4.77½ per bushel | Up 25 cents |
| May soybeans | $14.36½ per bushel | Up 70 cents |
| July soybeans | $14.27½ per bushel | Up 70 cents |
| November soybeans | $12.56¾ per bushel | Up 70 cents |
The same article said the limits would expand in the next session to 40 cents for corn and $1.05 for soybeans. Those were the limits it reported for that time; they should not be taken as today’s exchange rules.
What “limit up” meant in this session
A futures contract’s daily price limit sets the maximum permitted price movement for a trading session under the applicable exchange rules. In Successful Farming’s account, the three listed corn contracts finished 25 cents higher, and the three soybean contracts finished 70 cents higher—the respective session limits reported in the article. A limit move describes the boundary reached, not a forecast of where prices will go next.
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Why the June Acreage report is different
USDA’s March Prospective Plantings report records farmers’ intentions before the growing season is underway. The June Acreage report is a later, survey-based assessment of what was planted. CME Group explains the distinction in its overview of corn acreage and USDA reports. The two reports therefore answer different questions, even though both concern crop acres and can affect futures.
CME’s 2025 educational article also compares average intraday ranges on report days: 38 cents on annual Acreage report days since 2020, 24 cents on Prospective Plantings days, and 16 cents on WASDE report days. Those are CME’s historical averages as presented in 2025, not measurements of the March 31, 2021 session or predictions of a future move.
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What the immediate reaction does—and does not—show
Lower intended acreage than traders expected gave the market a reason to reprice the outlook, and the reported daily-limit gains show how sharply prices moved that session. But the acreage estimates alone do not establish what final planted area would be or determine later prices. Successful Farming’s report also quoted market commentators discussing stocks, weather and uncertainty around acreage estimates, alongside the acreage surprise.
Jack Scoville of PRICE Futures Group described the report as “wild, much below trade guesses for corn, beans, and wheat,” as quoted by Successful Farming. Jason Roose of U.S. Commodities said, “The acres set the stage with less than anticipated acres for both corn and soybeans,” also as reproduced in that publication. These are statements attributed through Successful Farming’s report, not independently recorded quotations.
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