Prospective Plantings Analysts admit to being a little surprised. Colorado growers intend to plant 1.28 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2021. That’s down 140,000 acres, or 10 percent from last year's plantings, according to the Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service. Nationwide, acreage for all corn is estimated at 91 million acres, up less than 1 percent and 2 million acres less than analysts expected. Recently we heard an optimistic forecast from the Executive Director of the Colorado Corn Administrative Committee who cited new markets for ethanol in the UK as well as high demand in China, Japan, and Mexico. Although the majority of Colorado-grown corn is purchased by local livestock operators, more demand nationally is good news for the state growers.