WICHITA, Kan. (AP)--Blessed with generous spring rains, Kansas farmers plan to plant far more acres than last year with thirsty crops such as corn and soybeans this season, and fewer acres of stalwarts like sorghum, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said March 31.

In its planting intentions report, the agency said Kansas farmers plan to sow 10 percent more acres with corn, bringing the state's total corn acreage to an expected 3.4 million acres.

And while some farmers elsewhere are shying away from soybeans following the appearance of Asian soybean rust disease in the United States, Kansans are actually putting in more acres of soybeans this spring. The state's prospective soybean acreage is up 4 percent to 2.9 million acres.

Just 5 percent of Kansas farmers told the U.S. Agriculture Department the discovery of soybean rust was a factor in their planting intentions, and anticipated soybean acreage is also up in Missouri, Iowa and Ohio. But farmers in Louisiana--where soybean rust was first found last year--plan to decrease their acres of the crop by 23 percent.

Nationwide, soybean acreage is expected to be down 2 percent, to 73.9 million acres, from the record acreage planted in 2004, with growers in 16 of the 31 soybean producing states planting fewer acres this year.

Kansas growers instead plan to cut back on the state's other major spring-planted row crop, the drought-hardy sorghum. The state's anticipated sorghum acreage--while still the largest in the nation--is down 9 percent to 2.9 million acres, according to the report.

Sorghum acres nationwide are expected to decline 1 percent to 7.4 million acres primarily because of large acreage declines in Kansas and Nebraska.

Wheat, as always, remains king in Kansas.

Farmers planted 10.1 million acres of winter Wheat in the fall of 2004, up 1 percent in the state. The Kansas Wheat crop is a big chunk of the 41.6 million acres planted with winter Wheat nationwide.

Thursday's report also provided a glimpse into spring Wheat varieties planted elsewhere in the nation. Spring Wheat acres are expected to rise 4 percent nationwide to 14.4 million acres.

Extremely dry conditions in the Pacific Northwest means fewer acres are being planted. Montana producers, for example, are shifting acreage from spring Wheat to winter wheat, the agency said.

While the four major row crops--wheat, corn, sorghum and soybeans--dominate the Kansas rural landscape, growers are also planning to make some notable shifts among the state's minor crops:

--Farmers plan a dramatic increase in sunflower acres, up 75 percent from a year earlier. That adds up to 300,000 acres of sunflowers in the state, if realized.

--Growers plan to put in 20,000 acres of barley this spring, up 33 percent.

-- Kansans also plan to sow more edible dry beans. The 9,500 acres represents an increase of 6 percent over a year ago.

--Cotton is down 6 percent to 80,000 acres; Oats are down 8 percent to 110,000 acres; and hay is down 1 percent to 3.3 million acres.

Date: 4/21/05