Many are surprised by theUSDA’s planted acreage report out this morning that estimates the second largest corn crop since 1946 at 87.0 million acres, up 1 percent from last year.

USDA grains analyst Jerry Norton says the number was much higher than the trade was expecting. “It’s a big number,” Norton says, especially considering the planting delays in Illinois and Indiana due to wet weather. But, that caused higher prices through May and into early June, “So, even though it was getting late to plant corn it was a strong incentive to plant for producers who could still get it into the ground.”

The condition of the crop is also doing better than expected with 72% nationwide rated good to excellent, even though progress is running behind normal in some areas.

In another report from USDA, corn stocks as of June 1, 2009 totaled 4.27 billion bushels, up 6 percent from June 1, 2008. All this adds up to plenty of corn available this year for food, feed and fuel.