CHICAGO, June 30 (Reuters) - U.S. soybean plantings dropped sharply this spring, falling well below trade expectations, the government said on Friday.
Soybean plantings totaled 83.505 million acres, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department's annual acreage report. That was down from 87.450 million a year earlier and well below market forecasts for 87.673 million.
Corn plantings meanwhile surpassed expectations at 94.096 million acres versus 91.853 million expected by analysts. (Reporting by Mark Weinraub)
