WASHINGTON - Farmers are expected to plant less corn this year, which could mean higher continuing costs for consumers at the grocery store.

Corn prices have skyrocketed in recent years, helped by the burgeoning ethanol industry, which turns the crop into fuel, and rising worldwide demand for food. The higher prices have hurt poultry, beef and pork companies, who use corn to feed their animals.

In North Dakota, farmers have indicated they plan to switch some acreage to wheat. State farmers estimate they will plant 6.9 million acres of spring wheat, or 250,000 acres more than last year.

The state's durum acreage is expected to be up 11 percent, to 1.65 million acres, with winter wheat acreage up 40 percent to 650,000 acres.

The state's corn acreage is estimated at 2.25 million acres, down 12 percent from last year's record.

Soybean acreage in North Dakota is expected to be up 16 percent from last year, to an estimated 3.5 million acres. Oil sunflowers are projected to be up 1 percent, to an estimated 920,000 acres, the highest since 2003.

The estimates put the state's barley acreage up 5 percent, to 1.5 million acres, and flaxseed acres up 3 percent, to 330,000 acres.

North Dakota estimates for canola, oats, dry edible beans and peas, sugar beets and non-oil sunflowers are down from last year. Oats acreage is expected to be down 24 percent and dry edible pea acreage down 3 percent. The drop for the other crops is projected in the range of 10 percent to 15 percent.

USDA estimates North Dakota's hay acreage will be up 4 percent from last year, to 2.9 million acres.

Nationwide, farmers are expected to plant 86 million acres of corn this year, the Department of Agriculture predicted Monday. The figure is down 8 percent from 2007, when the amount of corn planted was the highest since World War II. The decreased supply could drive corn prices even higher - a cost for food producers that could be passed on to consumers.

USDA said corn planting is expected to remain at historically high levels but could be down this year because of the high expense of growing corn and favorable prices for other crops, such as soybeans.

Soybean planting nationwide is expected to be up 18 percent this year, at almost 75 million acres. The largest increases in soybean planting are expected in Iowa and Nebraska.

Though the ethanol industry is heavily subsidized and has contributed to the rise in prices, a decrease in corn production could hurt that business, too. Higher prices for the crop could be passed on to those filling their cars up with the renewable fuel.

The number of ethanol plants has increased from 50 in 1999 to 134 now with more being built, according to the Renewable Fuels Association. An average, 100 million gallon-per-year ethanol plant consumes about 33 million bushels of corn.

The Department of Agriculture report is based on sample surveys of 86,000 farm operators in the first two weeks of March.