WPI’s initial acreage forecasts for the 2026 U.S. crop year show producers executing a mild expansion of soybean acres at the expense of corn while simultaneously reducing wheat area. Producers are also expected to keep minor crop acreage essentially unchanged, which will lead to a 0.4-percent reduction in the U.S. total crop acreage outlook.  WPI’s forecasts come as many in the industry are turning their attention toward the 2026 crop outlook while the winter crop planting effort is ongoing. While there is still a long time to go until the spring crop acreage is decided, the fall market conditions can be very influential on the overall acreage mix. Certainly, for many states there is a tradeoff between expanding winter cro...