ne-agri-facts NEBRASKA AGRI-FACTS Issue 04/2004 Released: 02/23/2004 by USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service Mark Harris, State Statistician Dean C Groskurth, Deputy State Statistician ------------------------------------------------------------------------ P.O Box 81069 Location: 298 Federal Bldg Lincoln, NE 68501 Phone: (402) 437-5541 e-mail: nass-ne@nass.usda.gov Internet: http://www.nass.usda.gov/ne/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. Mark Harris State Statistician ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nebraska Cattle on Feed Up 3 Percent Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.28 million cattle on feed on February 1, up 3 percent from last year but slightly below February 1, 2002. Placements of cattle into feedlots during January totaled 380,000 head, down 21 percent from 2003 and 22 percent below 2002. Fed cattle marketings for the month of January totaled 360,000 head, down 8 percent from last year and 11 percent below January two years ago. Other disappearance during January totaled 20,000 head compared with 10,000 head during January 2003 and 25,000 head during January 2002. U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 4 Percent Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.1 million head on February 1, 2004. The inventory was 4 percent above February 1, 2003 but 4 percent below February 1, 2002. Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.75 million, 16 percent below 2003 and 20 percent below 2002. Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.78 million, down 10 percent from 2003 and down 14 percent from 2002. Other disappearance totaled 94,000 during January, 25 percent above 2003 and 6 percent above 2002. Cattle on Feed: Number on Feed, Placements, Marketings and Other Disappearance, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States, 2002-2004 February 1 January January Jan. Other State Number on Feed 1/ Placements Marketings Disappearance 2/ 2004/ 2003/ 2003/ 2003/ 2003 2004 2003 2002 2003 2002 2002 2003 2002 2002 2003 2002 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % 1,000 Head % Arizona 291 296 102 29 32 110 24 26 108 3 3 100 California *480 500 104 58 55 95 67 60 90 6 5 83 Colorado 1,030 1,040 101 225 165 73 205 160 78 10 5 50 Idaho *290 275 95 56 41 73 65 64 98 1 2 200 Iowa *390 380 97 69 59 86 *72 47 65 2 2 100 Kansas 2,220 2,420 109 540 455 84 500 440 88 20 25 125 Nebraska 2,220 2,280 103 480 380 79 390 360 92 10 20 200 New Mexico 114 117 103 9 17 189 13 13 100 1 2 200 Oklahoma 330 350 106 *46 50 109 49 53 108 2 2 100 So. Dakota 215 200 93 *46 30 65 *45 29 64 1 1 100 Texas 2,600 2,770 107 420 390 93 435 430 99 15 20 133 Washington 180 185 103 36 26 72 39 40 103 2 1 50 Other States 340 310 91 75 46 61 68 60 88 2 6 300 United States *10,700 11,123 104 *2,089 1,746 84 *1,972 1,782 90 75 94 125 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. 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 20, 2004. Milk Cows: Licensed Dairy Operations, Number, and Milk Produced by Quarter, Nebraska and United States, 2002-2003 Licensed Dairy Milk Cows Production per Production State and Operations Cow Month 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 2002 2003 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Number 1,000 Head Pounds Million Pounds Nebraska January - March 68 66 297 297 April - June 67 65 298 294 July - September 67 63 282 268 October - December 66 62 290 270 Annual 540 500 67 64 17,418 17,641 1,167 1,129 United States - Annual 74,110 70,410 9,139 9,084 18,608 18,749 170,063 170,312 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Source: USDA NASS Milk Production, February 17, 2004 and USDA NASS Licensed Dairy Herds, February 17, 2004. Chickens: Inventory By Type, Nebraska and United States, December 1, 2002-2003 Nebraska United States Item 2002 2003 2003/2002 2002 2003 2003/2002 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thousands Percent Thousands Percent All Chickens 13,747 14,223 103 443,881 448,748 101 Total Layers 11,536 11,800 102 339,203 339,989 100 Pullets 13 weeks old and older but less than 20 weeks 963 562 58 39,679 42,030 106 Pullet chicks and pullets under 13 weeks of age 1,248 1,861 149 56,646 58,291 103 Other chickens 0 0 8,353 8,438 101 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs 2003 Summary, January 2004. Eggs: Production, Average Number and Eggs per Layer, Nebraska and United States 2002-2003 Nebraska United States Item 2002 2003 2002 2003 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eggs Produced (million) 2,977 3,126 87,179 87,196 Average Number of Layers (thousand) 11,594 11,746 337,380 335,368 Eggs per Layer (number) 257 266 257 259 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Source: USDA NASS Chickens and Eggs 2003 Summary, January 2004. Potato Stocks Fall Potatoes: Production and Stocks on February 1, 2004 /1 Crop of 2003 Total Stocks State Production Feb. 1, 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thousand Cwt. California 3,444 2,000 Colorado 23,652 12,200 Idaho 123,180 67,000 Maine 17,030 10,500 Michigan 15,015 5,600 Minnesota 22,330 11,100 Montana 3,339 3,000 NEBRASKA 9,860 4,500 New York 6,510 2,400 North Dakota 27,440 15,000 Ohio 1,290 130 Oregon 20,991 13,500 Pennsylvania 3,915 1,100 Washington 93,150 38,000 Wisconsin 32,800 14,500 Total 15 States 403,946 200,530 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ /1 Stocks include processor holdings and most of the seed to plant following year's crops. Source: USDA NASS Potato Stocks, February 13, 2004. Crop Summary: Marketing Year Average Price and Value of Production, Nebraska and United States, 2001-2003 Prod. Price Value of Production Crop Unit 2001 2002 2003 2001 2002 2003 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nebraska Dollars 1,000 Dollars Corn for Grain Bushels 1.94 2.32 2.45 2,210,145 2,182,656 2,754,290 Sorghum for Grain Cwt. 3.23 4.23 4.30 64,574 35,532 74,648 Oats Bushels 1.59 2.00 1.50 5,819 4,730 9,855 Barley Bushels 1.65 1.85 1.90 297 398 380 All Wheat Bushels 2.75 3.60 3.25 162,800 175,104 272,090 Winter Wheat Bushels 2.75 3.60 3.25 162,800 175,104 272,090 Soybeans Bushels 4.19 5.43 7.10 934,161 957,472 1,275,160 Dry Edible Beans Cwt. 18.50 18.60 17.00 58,923 64,449 53,567 All Hay (baled) Ton 70.50 85.00 65.00 519,957 497,325 487,090 Alfalfa Hay (baled) Ton 71.50 85.50 65.50 368,082 346,275 341,910 All Other Hay (baled) Ton 62.50 79.50 61.00 151,875 151,050 145,180 All Potatoes Cwt. 6.60 6.10 5.30 55,440 52,527 52,258 Sugar Beets Ton 36.90 40.00 30,996 30,400 Sunflower (all) Cwt. 9.20 12.30 12.10 7,785 3,050 7,003 Sunflower (oil) Cwt. 8.10 12.10 10.70 4,050 2,057 4,622 Sunflower (non-oil) Cwt. 11.20 12.90 16.20 3,735 993 2,381 United States Corn for Grain Bushels 1.97 2.32 2.45 18,888,389 20,974,734 24,803,566 Sorghum for Grain Cwt. 3.46 4.14 4.40 979,794 876,471 965,822 Oats Bushels 1.59 1.81 1.45 195,711 216,127 217,962 Barley Bushels 2.22 2.72 2.90 536,582 603,796 765,783 All Wheat Bushels 2.78 3.56 3.35 5,440,217 5,679,400 7,954,899 Winter Wheat Bushels 2.72 3.41 3.25 3,684,817 3,835,339 5,574,444 Soybeans Bushels 4.38 5.53 7.25 12,605,717 15,214,595 17,465,394 Dry Edible Beans Cwt. 22.10 17.10 17.80 426,475 513,793 411,930 All Hay (baled) Ton 96.50 92.40 92.90 12,597,331 12,450,234 12,330,971 Alfalfa Hay (baled) Ton 104.00 100.00 98.00 7,523,194 7,193,786 6,921,508 All Other Hay (baled) Ton 73.30 73.80 80.80 5,074,137 5,256,448 5,409,463 All Potatoes Cwt. 6.99 6.69 5.85 3,057,573 3,063,597 2,686,659 Sugar Beets Ton 39.80 39.30 1,025,306 1,089,287 Sunflower (all) Cwt. 9.62 12.10 11.80 325,950 299,638 312,594 Sunflower (oil) Cwt. 9.07 11.70 11.00 254,705 242,322 250,609 Sunflower (non-oil) Cwt. 11.60 13.70 15.20 71,245 57,316 61,985 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 2003 Summary, February 2004. Hired Workers Down 5 Percent, Wage Rates Up 1 Percent From a Year Ago There were 847,000 hired workers on the Nation's farms and ranches the week of January 11-17, 2004, down 5 percent from a year ago. Of these hired workers, 667,000 workers were hired directly by farm operators. Agricultural service employees working on farms and ranches made up the remaining 180,000 workers. Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $9.41 per hour during the January 2004 reference week, up 7 cents from a year earlier. Field workers received an average of $8.39 per hour, up 9 cents from last January. Livestock workers earned $8.84 per hour compared with $8.90 a year earlier. The field and livestock worker combined wage rate at, $8.55 per hour, was up 5 cents from last year. The number of hours worked averaged 38.1 hours for hired workers during the survey week, up 1 percent from a year ago. The largest decreases in number of hired farm workers from a year ago occurred in the Northeast I (New England and New York), Pacific (Oregon and Washington), and Mountain III (Arizona and New Mexico) regions and in California and Florida. The largest increases in number of hired farm workers from a year ago were in the Southern Plains (Oklahoma and Texas), Lake (Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin), Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina), and Delta (Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi) regions. Farm Labor: Number and Wage Rates for Type of Workers and All Hired Workers, Selected Regions and United States, January 12-18, 2003 & January 11-17, 2004 1/ -------------------Wage Rates----------------- -----------Type of work---------- Region 2 Hired All Hired Field & Workers Workers Field Livestock Livestock 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 2003 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Thousands Dollars Per Hour Lake 45 50 10.54 10.68 10.51 10.11 9.44 9.41 9.65 9.60 Cornbelt I 23 23 9.72 10.70 9.68 9.98 8.64 10.01 9.01 10.00 Cornbelt 20 19 9.50 10.15 9.24 9.12 9.01 9.79 9.08 9.50 II Northern Plains 23 23 10.00 9.75 9.18 9.89 9.43 8.78 9.37 9.11 Southern Plains 50 60 8.85 8.43 8.13 7.46 8.51 7.97 8.29 7.73 Mountain I 10 12 8.53 8.92 8.51 8.29 8.17 8.72 8.25 8.64 Mountain II 20 17 9.66 9.80 9.15 8.75 8.73 8.81 8.85 8.80 United States 729 667 9.34 9.41 8.30 8.39 8.90 8.84 8.50 8.55 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 20, 2004.