The U.S. Agriculture Department says Minnesota corn farmers intend to plant 9 million acres this spring, the Pioneer Press reports. That's 4 percent more than last year's record crop.

Soybean acres in Minnesota are expected to fall 4 percent as more farmers shift to corn.

The USDA expects farmers nationwide to plant 97.3 million acres of corn this year, the most since the 1930s, according to the Associated Press.

Last fall, Minnesota farmers produced 1.4 billion bushels -- a 15 percent increase over 2011. The state largely averted the devastating drought conditions that parched other parts of the country.