Corn plunged Thursday after the government reported that inventories were higher than expected and that farmers intend to plant the most corn in almost 80 years.

Stocks of corn totaled 5.4 billion bushels March 1, the U.S. Agriculture Department said in its quarterly grain stocks report, exceeding analysts’ forecasts. While inventories are down 10 percent from a year ago, following last year’s drought, Thursday’s estimate still exceeded the expectations of traders and analysts, said Mike Zuzolo, president of Global Commodities Analytics and Consulting.