Louisiana Agricultural Statistics Service 5825 Florida Blvd. Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806 Phone: (225) 922-1362 PRESS RELEASE 2004 Louisiana Crop Acreage & Production - January For Information Contact: Terry Mathews For Immediate Release: January 12, 2005 800.256.4485 After 2003 Records, Louisiana’s 2004 Crop Year Disappoints Louisiana farmers faced uncertainty and uncooperative weather conditions during most of the 2004 crop year. “Although yields didn’t turn out as good as in 2003, most crops still fared better than we anticipated early in the season,” said Sammye Crawford, Deputy Director of the Louisiana Agricultural Statistics Service. “Cotton yields were much stronger than we expected during the summer, and the hay yield is a new state record.” Cotton production is estimated at 885,000 bales, down 14 percent from the previous year. An estimated 500,000 acres were planted in 2004, down 5 percent from last year. Louisiana farmers harvested an estimated 490,000 acres, down 4 percent from last year. Yield per acre was 867 pounds, a decrease of 100 pounds from 2003, but still the second highest yield on record in the state. Upland cotton production for the U.S. is estimated at a record high 22.3 million bales, 25 percent more than last year’s production. All rice production is estimated at 28.5 million cwt, up 8 percent from 2003. Production of long grain varieties is estimated at 27.9 million cwt, and production of medium grain varieties is estimated at 650,000 cwt. The planted acreage estimate for rice was 538,000 acres, up 18 percent from 2003. An estimated 533,000 acres of rice was harvested, up 18 percent from 2003. The statewide yield averaged 5,350 pounds per acre, down 520 pounds from last year’s record yield. U.S. production is estimated at a record high 231 million cwt, up 15 percent from last year. Soybean production is estimated at 32.7 million bushels, up 30 percent from 2003. Total planted acreage was 1,100,000 acres, up 45 percent from 2003. Louisiana farmers harvested an estimated 990,000 acres, up 250,000 acres from last year. Yield was 33 bushels per acre, down 1 bushel from last year’s record yield. U.S. soybean production is estimated at 3.14 billion bushels, the largest U.S. soybean crop in history. Production of corn for grain is estimated at 55.4 million bushels, down 17 percent from 2003. Total planted acreage was estimated at 420,000 acres, down 19 percent from 2003. An estimated 410,000 acres were harvested for grain, down 18 percent from 2003. Yield per acre, at 135 bushels, was up 1 bushel up from 2003. U.S. corn production is estimated at 11.8 billion bushels, up 17 percent from 2003. Production of sorghum for grain is estimated at 5.2 million bushels compared to 14.0 million in 2003. Total planted acreage was estimated at 85,000 acres, of which 80,000 acres were harvested for grain. This was the lowest planted acreage since 1980 when the state planted 32,000 acres. Yield per acre, at 65 bushels, was down 20 bushels from 2003. U.S. production for the 2004 sorghum crop is estimated at 455 million bushels, 11 percent above 2003. Sugarcane production for sugar and seed is estimated at 11.2 million net tons, down 13 percent from 2003. An estimated 465,000 acres were harvested, down 5 percent from 2003. Net yield, which estimated at 24 tons per acre, is the lowest since 1993 when a yield of 22.8 net tons per acre was reported. U.S. production of sugarcane for sugar and seed in 2004 is estimated at 29.3 million tons, 13 percent below last year’s 33.9 million tons. Sweet potato production is estimated at 2.3 million cwt, down 26 percent from 2003. An estimated 16,000 acres were planted in 2004, down 16 percent from 2003. Harvested acreage was estimated at 15,500 acres, down 14 percent from last year. The statewide yield averaged 150 cwt per acre, down 25 cwt from last year’s record yield. U.S. production is estimated at 16.4 million cwt, up 3 percent from last season and 28 percent above 2002. All hay production in 2004 is estimated at 1.11 million tons compared to 1.10 million the previous year. An estimated 370,000 acres were harvested in 2004, down 10,000 acres from the previous year. Yield was 3.0 tons per acre, a new state record. U.S. production is estimated at 158 million tons, up fractionally from the 2003 total. -30- [Tables on back] CROP REPORT - LOUISIANA January 1, 2005 CROP HARVESTED ACRES (000) YIELD PER ACRE UNIT PRODUCTION (000) PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2003 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 Corn for grain 500 410 134 135 bushels 67,000 55,350 -17 Upland Cotton 510 490 967 867 lbs: bales 1,027 885 -14 Rice 450 533 5,870 5,350 lbs: cwt 26,397 28,522 +8 Sorghum for grain 165 80 85 65 bushels 14,025 5,200 -63 Soybeans 740 990 34 33 bushels 25,160 32,670 +30 Sugarcane (sugar & seed) 490 465 26.2 24.0 net tons 12,838 11,160 -13 Sweet Potatoes 18 15.5 175 150 cwt 3,150 2,325 -26 Hay, all 380 370 2.9 3.0 tons 1,102 1,110 +1 CROP REPORT - UNITED STATES January 1, 2005 CROP HARVESTED ACRES (000) YIELD PER ACRE UNIT PRODUCTION (000) PERCENT CHANGE FROM 2003 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 Corn for grain 70,944 73,632 142.2 160.4 bushels 10,089,222 11,807,217 +17 Upland Cotton 11,826 12,809 723 835 lbs: bales 17,822.9 22,270.0 +25 Rice 2,997 3,325 6,670 6,942 lbs: cwt 199,897 230,818 +15 Sorghum for grain 7,798 6,517 52.7 69.8 bushels 411,237 454,899 +11 Soybeans 72,476 73,958 33.9 42.5 bushels 2,453,665 3,140,996 +28 Sugarcane (sugar & seed) 992.3 952.1 34.1 30.8 net tons 33,858 29,295 -13 Sweet Potatoes 92.6 93.3 172 176 cwt 15,891 16,399 +3 Hay, all 63,383 61,916 2.49 2.55 tons 157,585 157,774 --- For free automatic e-mail subscription to this report, go to the following website via Internet and follow the instructions: www.nass.usda.gov/form.htm U.S.D.A. - Louisiana Agricultural Statistics Service In cooperation with LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL CENTER U.S.D.A. - Louisiana Agricultural Statistics Service In cooperation with LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AGRICULTURAL CENTER