Harvest has started to wind down across much of the Corn Belt, although we are still seeing some activity in the fringe regions. 

As it does, we are starting to see more interest on fall weather conditions, mainly what they will mean for fall tillage. At the present time, it appears as though fall fieldwork will be active, including fertilizer applications. 

In many years, this tends to elevate the number of corn acres as farmers are able to apply fall nitrogen. This has already caused some analysts to raise their corn acreage estimates for the 2021-22 marketing year. 

While this is possible, there are several factors that will need to be monitored concerning acreage next year. 

One of the biggest factors we have been reporting is input cost and availability. When Hurricane Ida hit the U.S. Gulf, it not only disrupted commodity exports but imports as well. This has reduced the flow of fertilizer into the United States and...