ne-agri-facts NEBRASKA AGRI-FACTS Issue 04/2003 Released: 02/24/2003 by Nebraska Agricultural Statistics Service P.O Box 81069 Location: 298 Federal Bldg Lincoln, NE 68501 Phone: (402) 437-5541 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ USDA,National Ag Statistics Service Nebraska Department of Agriculture William G Hamlin, State Statistician Merlyn Carlson, Director ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Dear producers and other data users: Information contained herein is the result of mail, phone and personal interview surveys conducted during the past few weeks. Special recognition and appreciation are extended to all producers and agribusinesses who provided data making these reports possible. William G. Hamlin State Statistician ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nebraska Cattle on Feed Down 3 Percent Nebraska feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head contained 2.22 million cattle on feed on February 1, down 3 percent from last year and 9 percent below February 1, 2001. Placements of cattle into feedlots during January totaled 480,000 head, down 2 percent from 2002 but equal to 2001. Fed cattle marketings for the month of January totaled 390,000 head, down 4 percent from last year and 9 percent below January two years ago. Other disappearance during January totaled 10,000 head compared with 25,000 head during January 2002 and 20,000 head during January 2001. U.S. Cattle on Feed Down 8 Percent Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.7 million head on February 1, 2003. The inventory was 8 percent below February 1, 2002 and 11 percent below February 1, 2001. Placements in feedlots during January totaled 2.14 million, 2 percent below 2002 and 6 percent below 2001. Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.97 million, down 5 percent from 2002 and down 4 percent from 2001. Other disappearance totaled 75,000 during January, 16 percent below 2002 and 4 percent below 2001. Cattle on Feed: Number on Feed, Placements, Marketings and Other Disappearance, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States, 2002-2003 February 1/ January January January Number on Feed 1/ Placements Marketings Other State Disappearance 2/ 2003/ 2003/ 2003/ 2003/ 2002 2003 2002 2002 2003 2002 2002 2003 2002 2002 2003 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % Arizona 311 291 94 32 29 91 25 24 96 1 3 300 California 475 475 100 59 58 98 57 67 118 7 6 86 Colorado 1,180 1,030 87 225 235 104 215 215 100 10 10 100 Idaho 320 285 89 57 56 98 65 65 100 2 1 50 Iowa 395 360 91 91 69 76 50 62 124 1 2 200 Kansas 2,450 2,220 91 530 540 102 540 500 93 20 20 100 Nebraska 2,290 2,220 97 490 480 98 405 390 96 25 10 40 New Mexico 109 112 103 11 8 73 9 14 156 1 1 100 Oklahoma 350 325 93 67 46 69 74 49 66 3 2 67 So. Dakota 200 215 108 46 53 115 38 42 111 3 1 33 Texas 2,850 2,630 92 480 450 94 500 435 87 10 15 150 Washington 237 180 76 41 36 88 50 39 78 1 2 200 Other States 405 340 84 50 75 150 55 68 124 5 2 40 United States 11,572 10,683 92 2,179 2,135 98 2,083 1,970 95 89 75 84 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Cattle and calves on feed are animals for slaughter market being fed a ration of grain or other concentrates and are expected to produce a carcass that will grade select or better. 2/ Includes death losses, movement from feedlots to pastures and shipments to other feedlots for further feeding. Source: USDA NASS Cattle on Feed, February 1, 2003. Milk Cows and Production: Number and Milk Produced by Quarter, Nebraska and United States, 2001-2002 Milk Cows Production per Cow Production State and Month 2001 2002 2001 2002 2001 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1,000 Head Pounds Million Pounds Nebraska January - March 75 68 4,080 4,397 306 299 April - June 73 67 4,137 4,448 302 298 July - September 70 67 3,926 4,224 275 283 October - December 69 66 4,101 4,394 283 290 Annual 72 67 16,194 17,463 1,166 1,170 United States - Annual 9,114 9,141 18,159 18,571 165,497 169,758 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: USDA NASS Milk Production, February 14, 2003. Chickens: Inventory By Type, Nebraska and United States, December 1, 2001-2002 Nebraska United States Item 2001 2002 2002/2001 2001 2002 2002/2001 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thousands Percent Thousands Percent All Chickens 13,704 13,679 100 441,509 438,948 99 Hens & Pullets Laying Age 11,494 11,468 100 338,628 337,213 100 Pullets 13 weeks & older but less than 20 weeks 539 963 179 42,807 39,679 93 Pullet chicks and pullets under 13 weeks of age 1,671 1,248 75 51,948 53,706 103 Other chickens 0 0 8,126 8,350 103 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs 2002 Summary, January 2003. Eggs: Production, Average Number and Eggs per Layer, Nebraska and United States 2001-2002 Nebraska United States Item 2001 2002 2001 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Eggs Produced (million) 3,001 2,977 85,745 86,698 Average Number of Layers (thousand) 11,650 11,591 335,012 337,202 Eggs per Layer (number) 258 257 256 257 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs 2002 Summary, January 2003. Potato Stocks Fall Potatoes: Production and Stocks, 15 Selected States, February 1, 2003 Total Stocks State Production Feb. 1, 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Thousand Cwt. California 4,450 1,300 Colorado 27,885 15,000 Idaho 133,385 72,500 Maine 16,960 9,500 Michigan 13,878 5,500 Minnesota 18,700 9,100 Montana 3,224 2,900 NEBRASKA 8,611 3,900 New York 5,500 1,100 North Dakota 23,460 11,200 Ohio 1,008 120 Oregon 24,936 12,000 Pennsylvania 2,590 850 Washington 95,200 40,000 Wisconsin 31,125 12,500 Total 15 States 410,912 197,470 ------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: USDA NASS Potato Stocks, February 14, 2003. Crop Summary: Marketing Year Average Price and Value of Production, Nebraska and United States, 2000-2002 Prod. Price Value of Production Crop Unit 2000 2001 2002 2000 2001 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nebraska Dollars 1,000 Dollars Corn for Grain Bushels 1.90 1.94 2.40 1,927,170 2,210,145 2,257,920 Sorghum for Grain Cwt. 3.28 3.23 4.45 64,400 64,574 37,380 Oats Bushels 1.42 1.59 1.95 2,684 5,819 4,612 Barley Bushels 1.60 1.65 1.80 216 297 387 All Wheat Bushels 2.61 2.75 3.70 155,034 162,800 179,968 Winter Wheat Bushels 2.61 2.75 3.70 155,034 162,800 179,968 Soybeans Bushels 4.44 4.19 5.35 771,894 934,161 943,366 Dry Edible Beans Cwt. 15.80 18.50 19.20 51,034 58,923 66,528 All Hay (baled) Ton 69.50 70.50 85.50 416,103 519,957 502,325 Alfalfa Hay (baled) Ton 71.50 71.50 86.50 299,228 368,082 350,325 All Other Hay (baled) Ton 62.50 62.50 80.00 116,875 151,875 152,000 All Potatoes Cwt. 4.85 6.60 5.95 49,116 55,440 51,235 Sugar Beets Ton 29.20 36.90 32,470 30,996 Sunflower (all) Cwt. 8.50 9.20 12.40 5,491 7,785 3,041 Sunflower (oil) Cwt. 6.80 8.10 12.00 2,866 4,050 2,040 Sunflower (non-oil) Cwt. 11.60 11.20 13.00 2,625 3,735 1,001 United States Corn for Grain Bushels 1.85 1.97 2.35 18,499,002 18,888,389 21,213,159 Sorghum for Grain Cwt. 3.37 3.46 4.30 847,075 979,794 883,690 Oats Bushels 1.10 1.59 1.75 175,797 195,711 211,849 Barley Bushels 2.11 2.22 2.70 649,130 536,582 596,759 All Wheat Bushels 2.62 2.78 3.60 5,782,107 5,440,217 5,863,378 Winter Wheat Bushels 2.51 2.72 3.45 3,893,961 3,684,817 3,939,217 Soybeans Bushels 4.54 4.38 5.40 12,466,572 12,605,717 14,755,470 Dry Edible Beans Cwt. 15.50 22.10 17.00 413,986 426,475 519,609 All Hay (baled) Ton 84.60 96.50 94.00 11,416,651 12,602,534 12,432,729 Alfalfa Hay (baled) Ton 88.90 104.00 102.00 6,707,454 7,524,869 7,172,182 All Other Hay (baled) Ton 70.90 73.30 74.20 4,709,197 5,077,665 5,260,547 All Potatoes Cwt. 5.08 6.99 6.82 2,591,091 3,057,573 3,151,178 Sugar Beets Ton 34.20 39.80 1,113,030 1,025,306 Sunflower (all) Cwt. 6.89 9.62 12.70 246,869 325,950 317,244 Sunflower (oil) Cwt. 5.89 9.07 12.40 175,306 254,705 259,365 Sunflower (non-oil) Cwt. 11.20 11.60 13.70 71,563 71,245 57,879 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Note: All prices in this report are marketing year average prices which do not include allowances or adjustments for commodities under government loan at the end of the marketing year; commodities forfeited to the Commodity Credit Corporation, loan deficiency payments, direct and counter cyclical payments or disaster payments. Source: USDA NASS Crop Values 2002 Summary, February 2003. Hired Workers Down 1 Percent, Wage Rates Up 4 Percent From a Year Ago There were 884,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches the week of January 12-18, 2003, down 1 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 724,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees working on farms and ranches made up the remaining 160,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.32 per hour during the January 2003 reference week, up 35 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.29 per hour, up 4 cents from last January. Livestock workers earned $8.91 per hour compared with $8.20 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate at $8.50 per hour was up 27 cents from last year. Number of hours worked averaged 37.8 hours for hired workers during the survey week compared with 38.5 hours a year ago. The largest decreases in number of hired farm workers from at year ago were in Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas), Northeast II (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), Mountain I (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming) and Corn Belt I (Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio) regions. The largest increases in number of hired farm workers over last year occurred in California, Florida, and in the Appalachian II (Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia) and Lake (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin) regions. Farm Labor: Number and Wage Rates for Type of Workers and All Hired Workers, Selected Regions and United States, January 6-12, 2002 & January 12-18, 2003 1/ -----------------Wage Rates------------------ ----------Type of work----------- Hired All Hired Field & Region 2 Workers Workers Field Livestock Livestock ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thousands ----------------Dollars per hour-------------- Lake 38 45 9.91 10.54 10.22 10.51 8.26 9.44 8.94 9.65 Cornbelt I 30 23 9.75 9.72 9.03 9.68 9.22 8.64 9.15 9.01 Cornbelt II 24 20 9.74 9.50 8.62 9.24 9.41 9.01 9.26 9.08 Northern Plains 28 23 9.00 10.00 8.34 9.18 8.41 9.43 8.39 9.37 Southern Plains 61 50 8.05 8.85 7.82 8.13 7.37 8.51 7.57 8.29 Mountain I 18 10 8.34 8.53 8.02 8.51 7.74 8.17 7.81 8.25 Mountain II 17 20 9.15 9.66 8.54 9.15 8.48 8.73 8.51 8.85 United States 707 724 8.97 9.32 8.25 8.29 8.20 8.91 8.23 8.50 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1/ Excludes agricultural service workers. 2/ Regions consist of the following: Lake: Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin; Cornbelt I: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio; Cornbelt II: Iowa, Missouri; Northern Plains: Kansas, NEBRASKA, North Dakota, South Dakota; Southern Plains: Oklahoma, Texas; Mountain I: Idaho, Montana, Wyoming; Mountain II: Colorado, Nevada, Utah. Source: USDA NASS Farm Labor, February 21, 2003.