S. Africa May Shun Corn, Have Record Soy, Sunflower Plantings

South African farmers may have planted a record amount of soybeans and sunflower seeds after prices surged, encouraging producers to switch away from corn, the government’s Crop Estimates Committee said.

Farmers may have planted an estimated 575,200 hectares (1.42 million acres) of sunflower seeds, up from 397,700 hectares a year ago, the Pretoria-based committee said in a statement. Land used for soy probably increased 41 percent to 438,000 hectares while the total corn area, including both white and yellow corn, may fall 8 percent to 2.52 million hectares