HARRISBURG (Dauphin
Co.) The Pennsylvania Agri
cultural Statistics Service (PASS)
recently released results from sev
eral surveys conducted to compare
agricultural production and stor
age levels over the past year.
Included are reports on turkey
production, fruits, hogs, grains and
field crops.
The PASS is an agency of the
U.S. Department of Agriculture,
located in the state’s agriculture
department building in Harrisburg
and reports on all agricultural pro
duction statistics throughout the
year.
Turkeys Down
Pennsylvania turkey producers
raised 8.4 million birds in 1991,
down slightly from 1990, accord
ing to PASS.
There were 285 million turkeys
raised in the United States during
the year, 1 percent higher than the
282 million raised during 1990.
North Carolina ranked first in
the number raised with 58 million,
followed by Minnesota with 44
million, and California with 29
million. Pennsylvania ranked
ninth in the number of turkeys
raised.
Producers in Pennsylvania
reported intentions to raise 8.6 mil
lion turkeys during 1992, which
would be 2 percent more than the
number raised in 1991.
Producers in the 20 major pro
ducing states intend to raise 272
million turkeys, up 1 percent from
last year. The number of turkeys
actually raised in 1992 may vary
from growers' intentions depend
ing on feed costs, supply of hatch
ing eggs, cost of poults, and prices
growers receive for turkeys during
the next few months.
Crop Production
Based on acreage and produc
tion data, Pennsylvania farmers
produced less com for grain, com
for silage, oats, soybeans, wheat,
potatoes, rye, alfalfa hay, and other
hay in 1991 than in 1990.
Production was up for barley
and tobacco.
Com for grain production tot
aled 64.5 million bushels, 41 per
cent below last year's crop due to
the drought conditions during the
summer and fall of 1991.
Com acres harvested for grain
amounted to 860,000 and yielded
75 bushels per acre.
Com for silage production was
5.2 million tons, 17 percent below
1990 production. Acres harvested
totaled 520,000,33 percent above
last year, while yield dropped to 10
tons per acre, 6 tons per acre below
last year.
Alfalfa hay production was 2.03
million tons, 17 percent below last
year's production. Acres harvested
were 780,000 with a yield of 2.60
tons per acre.
All other hay acres harvested
totaled 1.11 million acres which
yielded 1.80 tons per acre for a tot
al production of 2 million tons,
down 13 percent from last year.
Oats production was 8.4 million
bushels, 47 percent less than last
year's production. Harvested acres
totaled a record low 210,000 and
the yield was 40 bushels per acre.
Production of winter wheat was
7.7 million bushels, 27 percent less
than production in 1990.
Harvested acres totaled 175,000
with a yield of 44 bushels per acre,
6 bushels below last year.
Soybean production, at 9.9 mil
lion bushels was 12 percent less
than last year's record high.
Acreage harvested was 300,000
and yield was 33 bushels per acre.
Barley production was4.2o mil
lion bushels. 1 percent more than
1990. Acreage harvested was
70,000 with a yield per acre of 60
bushels.
Rye production from the 11,000
acres harvested was 297,000
bushels, 40 percent lower than in
1990. Rye yield averaged 27
bushels per acre, 4 bushels lower
than last year's yield.
Fall potato production at 3.50
million hundredweight (cwt.) was
a record low for the state and 35
percent less than 1990 production.
Acres harvested was a record low
20,000, which was 2,500 fewer
acres than last year, with a yield of
175 cwt. per acre, down 65 cwt.
from last year's yield.
sccdleaf-type
tobacco production totaled 13.7
million pounds, 5 percent above
last year. Acres for harvest
amounted to 6,700, up 300 acres
from last year, with an average
yield per acre of 2,050 pounds,
unchanged from last year.
Maryland-type tobacco produc
tion totaled 7 million pounds. 6
percent above last year. Harvest
was from 3,800 acres, up 200 acres
from last year, with an average
yield of 1,850 pounds per acre,
unchanged from last year.
Pennsylvania farmers seeded
180,000 acres of wheat in the fall
of 1991 for the 1992 crop,
unchanged from last year. Rye
seedings for all purposes
amounted to 50,000 acres, up
s,oooacres from die previous year.
At the United States level, pro
duction was up for hay, soybeans,
barley, potatoes and tobacco. Pro
duction decreases were for com.
com silage, oats, wheat and rye.
PASS
Reports On
U.S. production of major crops
and changes from the previous
year are as follows: com for grain,
7.47 billion bushels, down 6 per
cent; com for silage, 80.5 million
tons, down 7 percent; alfalfa hay,
83.8 million tons, up fractionally;
other hay, 69.7 million tons, up 10
percent; oats, 243 million bushels,
down 32 percent; winter wheat,
1.37 billion bushels, down 32 per
cent; soybeans, 1.99 billion
bushels, up 3 percent; barley. 464
million bushels, up 10 percent; rye,
9.8 million bushels, down 4 per
cent; all potatoes, 418 million cwt.,
up 4 percent; all tobacco, 1.66 bil
lion pounds, up 2 percent.
Winter wheat seedings during
the fall of 1991 for the 1992 crop is
estimated at 50.2 million acres,
down 2 percent from a year earlier.
Rye seedings were 1.59 million
acres, down 5 percent from last
year.
Pennsylvania’s vegetable far
mers harvested 19,000 acres of
sweet com in 1991.
Of this total, 15,700 acres woe
for fresh market with production
totaling 659,000 cwt. This is 26
percent less than the 1990 produc
tion for fresh market
Average value of fresh market
sweet com was $21.80 per cwt, up
$3.60 from the slB.2oper cwt. val
ue in 1990.
Production for processed sweet
com amounted to 11,560 tons, a
decrease of 28 percent from 1990's
production. The average value for
processed sweet com decreased
from $58.90 to $56.40 per ton in
1991.
Nationally, 175,400 acres of
sweet com was harvested for fresh
market in 1991 and 542,260 acres
were harvested for processing.
Fresh market production totaled
14.8 million cwt. and was valued at
$l7 per cwt.
Processing production totaled
3.4 million tons in 1991 with an
average value of $71.60 per ton.
Sixty percent of the processing
production was utilized for can
ning and 40 percent was for
freezing.
Pennsylvania's 1991 fresh
market tomato production was
estimated at 344,000 cwt, down
44 percent from 1990. Area
harvested was 4,300 acres.
The average value was $21.90
per cwL
Sweet Corn, Etc.
1991
Pennsylvania's production of
tomatoes for processing was
27,600 tons, down 21 percent from
a year ago. Total acreage harvested
was 2,000. The average value per
ton decreased from $94.70 in 1990
to $93.10 in 1991.
United States' production of
fresh mqrket tomatoes was 33.4
million per cwt in 1991,1 percent
less than 1990. The area harvested
was 129,630 acres. Average value
of tomatoes for fresh market was
$32.70 per cwt.
Production of tomatoes for pro
cessing was 10.9 million tons.
Harvested acreage was 355,980
compared with 354,700 in 1990.
Average value per ton was $66.40
in 1991.
In Pennsylvania, 6,200 acres of
snap beans were harvested for pro
cessing in 1991, down 27 percent
from the previous year. Total pro
duction was 9,420 tons with an
average value of $218.00 per ton.
Strawberry production for fresh
market and processing was 61,000
cwt, harvested from 1,600 acres.
Average value per cwt. was
$105.00.
At the U.S. level, 233,450 acres
of snap beans were harvested for
processing in 1991. Total produc
tion decreased 3 percent to
775,780 tons. Canning utilized
544,980 tons of the production.
Average value decreased from
$183.00 per ton in 1990 to $174.00
in 1991.
U.S. strawberry production in
1991 is estimated at 14 million
cwt., up 12 percent from 1990.
Acreage harvested was 46,680; the
average value per cwt. was $47.30.
Grains, Hay Storage
Pennsylvania's com stored in all
positions on Dec. 1,1991 was 57.6
million bushels, down 45 percent
from Dec. 1, 1990.
On-farm com stocks amounted
to 55 million bushels, while off
farm stocks were 2.6 million
bushels.
Wheat stored off farms totaled
5.7 million bushels. Soybeans
stored off farms totaled 8.8 million
bushels. Barley stored off farms
was 699 thousand bushels.
Oats stored in all positions was
6.3 million bushels. 5.4 million on
farm and 934,000 off-farm.
Pennsylvania's on-farm stocks
of wheat, soybeans and barley are
not published separately but
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instead are included with an unal
located national total.
Hay stocks on-farms on Dec. 1.
J 991 were estimated at 2.58 mil
lion tons, down 23 percent from a
year ago.
On Dec. 1,1991, there were 349
off-farm storage facilities (mills,
elevators, warehouses, terminals
and processors) with a total grain
storage capacity of 45 million
bushels, up fractionally from Dec.
1. 1990.
On Dec. 1, 1991, on-farm stor
age capacity was 180 million
bushels, unchanged from Dec. 1,
1990.
Nationally, com slocks in all
positions on Dec. 1,1991 was esti
mated at 6.54 billion bushels, 6
percent less than on Dec. 1,1990.
Of the total stocks, 4.29 billion
bushels were stored on the farm,
12 percent less than last year; and
2.24 billion bushels were stored
off the farm, up 9 percent from last
year.
All wheat stocks in all positions
on Dec. 1, 1991 are estimated at
1.44 billion bushels, down 24 per
cent from a year ago. Wheat stored
on farms was 565 million bushels,
while off-farm stocks totaled 877
million bushels, down 23 percent.
Off-farm stocks made up 61 per
cent of total wheat stocks.
Soybeans in all storage posi
tions on Dec. 1,1991 totaled 1.78
billion bushels, up 6 percent from
Dec. 1, 1990. Farm stocks totaled
810 million bushels, 7 percent
above last year, and accounted for
46 percent of total soybean stocks.
Off-farm stocks are placed at 968
million bushels, 4 percent above a
year ago.
Barley stored in all positions on
Dec. 1. 1991 totaled 329 million
bushels, 8 percent above stocks a
year ago. Of the total barley stocks
on hand, 195 million bushels were
stored on farms, 11 percent above
a year earlier; and 134 million
bushels or 41 percent of the total
were stored off farms, 4 percent
above last year.
U.S. hay stocks on farms on
Dec. 1, 1991 are estimated to be
111.6 million tons, 6 percent above
a year ago.
The total number of off-farm
storage facilities in the U.S. on
Dec. 1,1991 was 12,854 with a tot
al grain storage capacity of 8.91
(Turn to Pago C 4)