© 2010 Lanworth, Inc.
The 2010 crop year began with planting in early April with the arrival of warm, dry weather and clear skies. At the first signs of crop emergence, Lanworth sent teams of analysts to America’s heartland to capture the geographic extent, crop rotation patterns and planting distribution of the major commodities.
Utilizing Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Lanworth collected over 25,000 data points from across the midwestern United States over a three week time period in May. Geographic coverage in this analysis encompassed over 80% of the entire U.S. planted area and captured the major commodities producing regions.
Each blue dot on the map represents an observed planted field identified as corn, soybeans, wheat, fallow or other use. The data was incorporated into Lanworth’s historical crop rotation database and analyzed in conjunction with satellite imagery to generate planted acreage estimates for the United States. These estimates, released throughout May and June, were adjusted throughout the season as corn and soybean emergence continued and became increasingly visible on satellite imagery.
