E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
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NEW YORK CROP
AND LIVESTOCK REPORT

Released: March 2006
Monthly
No. 973-3-06

2005 MILK PRODUCTION

Annual milk production in the Empire State during 2005 totaled 12.1 billion pounds, up 3 percent from 11.7 billion pounds in 2004. The annual average number of milk cows, at 648,000, was down 1 percent from a year earlier. Output per cow increased by 853 pounds, or 5 percent, to 18,639 pounds per cow.

U.S. milk production for 2005 totaled 177 billion, up 3.5 percent from a year earlier. The output per cow, at 19,576, was 609 pounds above the 2004 rate. The average number of milk cows during 2005 9.04 million, up 3.2 percent from the previous year.

California, with 37.6 billion pounds, remained the leading milk producer in 2005, followed by Wisconsin with 22.9 billion, New York with 12.1 billion, Pennsylvania with 10.5 billion, and Idaho with 10.2 billion. These five states produced 53 percent of the total U.S. milk output.

NEW YORK TROUT SALES DOWN

New  York  trout  producers  sold  a  total  of  132,000  pounds  of trout  valued  at  $507,000  during  the  12 months  ending December  31,  2005.  This  production,  which  includes  food-size fish,  stockers,  and  fingerlings,  was  up  4  percent  from  a  year ago.

The  2005  output  included  83,000  pounds  of  food-size  trout averaging  $3.03  per  pound  in  value,  46,000  pounds  of stocker  trout  averaging  $4.49  per  pound,  and  3,000  pounds  of fingerlings  averaging  $445.00  per  1,000  fish.  Food-size  fish averaged 10  pounds  in  weight,  while  stockers  averaged . 40 pounds.  Total  weight  of  food-size  trout  sold  was  down  5  percent from  2004.   Total  weight  of  stocker  trout  was  up  21  percent.

Milk Cows and Production, by Months, New York, 2003-2005

Month	Milk Cows on Farms 1/			Milk Production per Cow			Total Milk Production
	2003	2004	2005	2003	2004	2005	2003	2004	2005
	1,000			Pounds			Million pounds
January	675	658	650	1,515	1,490	1,535	1,023	980	998
February	677	660	650	1,400	1,400	1,415	948	924	920
March	680	660	648	1,540	1,510	1,570	1,047	997	1,017
April	679	658	646	1,505	1,500	1,565	1,022	987	1,011
May	677	655	646	1,570	1,580	1,665	1,063	1,035	1,076
June	675	656	647	1,500	1,490	1,590	1,013	977	1,029
July	673	656	647	1,515	1,520	1,600	1,020	997	1,035
August	671	654	647	1,475	1,500	1,600	990	981	1,035
September	668	654	649	1,430	1,420	1,515	955	929	983
October	665	653	650	1,455	1,470	1,550	968	960	1,008
November	660	651	648	1,410	1,410	1,485	931	918	962
December	657	650	650	1,480	1,485	1,545	972	965	1,004
ANNUAL	671	655	648	17,812	17,786	18,639	11,952	11,650	12,078

U.S. HIRED WORKERS UP 3 PERCENT,
WAGE RATES UP 3 PERCENT

There  were 795,000  hired  workers  on  the  Nation’s  farms  and ranches  during  the  week  of  January  8-14,  2006.  There were 616,000 workers hired directly by farm operators.  Agricultural service employees on farms and ranches made up the remaining 180,000 workers.

Farm operators paid their hired workers an average wage of $10.11 per hour during the January 2006 reference week, up 33 cents from a year earlier.   Field workers received an average of $9.15 per hour, up 44 cents.  Livestock workers earned $9.25 per hour  compared  with $9.20 a year earlier.

Hired Workers on Farms and Wage Rates

Item	Northeast I 1/			United States
	Jan. 9-15, 2005	Oct. 9-15, 2005 2/	Jan. 8-14, 2006	Jan. 9-15, 2005 2/	Oct. 9-15, 2005 2/	Jan. 8-14, 2006
	1,000 workers
All hired workers	23	38	23	589	842	616
Worked 150 days or more	20	29	22	494	621	513
Worked less than 150 days	3	9	1	95	221	103
	Hours worked per worker
All hired workers	36.6	40.1	38.1	37.0	42.0	38.2
	Dollars per hour
Field workers	9.47	9.42	10.42	8.71	8.90	9.15
Livestock workers	9.17	9.42	8.80	9.20	9.15	9.25
Field and livestock workers	9.32	9.42	9.56	8.90	8.96	9.19
All hired workers	10.37	10.19	11.04	9.78	9.61	10.11

NEW YORK HONEY PRODUCTION INCREASES

Honey production from beekeepers with five or more hives in New York totaled 4.38 million pounds during 2005  This total is up 2 percent from the 2004 production of 4.29 million pounds.

The 2005 production was extracted from 60,000 colonies, down 8 percent from the 64,000 colonies in 2004.  Honey yield per colony averaged 73 pounds, 9 percent above the 2004 yield.  Honey stocks on hand across the State as of December 15, 2005 totaled 2.32 million pounds, an increase of 23 percent from the 1.89 million pounds a year earlier.

Prices received by beekeepers in New York averaged $1.22 per pound for all methods of sale during 2005, 12 percent less than the 2004 average price.  Value of honey production for the State in 2005 totaled $5.34 million, compared with $5.92 million in 2004.

Honey production in 2005 from producers with five or more colonies in the U.S. totaled 175 million pounds, down 5 percent from 2004.  There were 2.41 million colonies producing honey in 2005, down 6 percent from 2004.  Yield per colony averaged 72.5 pounds, up 1 percent from the 71.8 pounds in 2004.  

U.S. honey prices decreased during 2005 to 90.4 cents, down 15 percent from 106.9 cents in 2004.  Prices are based on retail sales by producers and sales to private processors and cooperatives.  State level honey prices reflect the portions of honey sold through retail, co-op and private channels.  Honey prices for each color class are derived by weighing quantities sold for each marketing channel.  Honey prices for 2005 were lower than the previous year for all color class totals.

HONEY:  Production and Value, 2003-2005 1/

Item	Unit	New York			United States
		2003	2004	2005	2003	2004	2005
Colonies of bees	1,000	67	64	60	2,590	2,556	2,410
Yield per colony	Pounds	72	67	73	69.9	71.8	72.5
Honey production	1,000 lb.	4,824	4,288	4,380	181,096	183,582	174,643
Price per pound	Dollars	1.36	1.33	1.22	1.39	1.07	.90
Total value	1,000 $ .	6,561	5,917	5,344	255,791	196,259	157,795
Stocks on December 15	1,000 lb.	1,640	1,887	2,321	40,935	61,222	62,406

1/   For producers with five or more colonies.

FEBRUARY PRICES LOWER

Prices received by New York producers during February for selected commodities were mostly lower than a month ago. The price of oats, wheat, hay, apples, milk, and eggs decreased.  The price of corn and potatoes increased.  The price of soybeans remained unchanged.  Many previous month prices were revised due to more complete sales information.

Grain corn, at $2.27 per bushel, increased 14 cents from January but decreased 5 cents from last year.  Oats, at $1.75 per bushel, were 5 cents below January and 30 cents less than February 2005. Wheat price is $3.32, 21 cents below last month but 22 cents above last year. Soybeans are $5.49, unchanged from last month but 49 cents above a year ago. Hay averaged $119.00 per ton, $2.00 less than January but $11.00 more than February 2005.  Potatoes averaged $12.80 per hundredweight, 10 cents more than January and $4.95 more than February a year ago. Fresh market apple prices at the packinghouse door averaged 26.60 cents per pound this month, 0.2 cents less than January but 3.9 cents more than February 2005

Dairy farmers in the Empire State received an average of $14.20 per hundredweight of milk sold during February, down 60 cents from January and $1.50 from February a year ago.  Poultry producers received an average of 28 cents per dozen eggs sold, down 13 cents from January and 9 cents from February 2005. 

The preliminary All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by Farmers in February, at 113, based on 1990-92=100, is unchanged from January. The Crop Index is up 5 points (4.6 percent) but the Livestock Index decreased 4 points (3.4 percent). Producers received higher commodity prices for oranges, wheat, hay, and hogs. Lower prices were received for cattle, tomatoes, milk, and eggs. The overall index is also affected by the seasonal change based on a 3-year average mix of commodities a producer sells. Increased average marketings of cattle, milk, broilers, and strawberries offset decreased marketings of corn, soybeans, wheat, and cotton.

Prices Received by Farmers 1/

Commodity	Unit	New York			United States
		Feb. 2005	Jan. 2006	Feb. 2006	Feb. 2005	Jan. 2006	Feb. 2006
		Dollars			Dollars
Corn	bu.	2.32	2.13	2.27	1.95	2.00	2.01
Oats	bu.	2.05	1.80	1.75	1.67	1.73	1.78
Wheat	bu.	3.10	3.53	3.32	3.36	3.52	3.66
Barley	bu.	2.60	0.00	0.00	2.31	2.47	2.55
Hay, baled	ton	108.00	121.00	119.00	88.20	91.20	95.00
Potatoes	cwt.	7.85	12.70	12.80	5.79	7.07	6.97
Apples, fresh market 2/	cwt.	22.70	26.80	26.60	20.30	26.00	25.90
Milk, wholesale	cwt.	15.70	14.80	14.20	15.50	14.50	13.80
Milk cows 3/	head	-	1,710.00	-	-	1,840.00	-
Eggs, table market	doz.	0.370	0.410	0.280	0.358	0.438	0.301
Slaughter cows	cwt.	48.80	44.65	4/	52.50	47.30	48.50
Steers and heifers	cwt.	72.20	70.58	4/	93.10	102.00	98.10
All slaughter cattle	cwt.	50.40	46.49	4/	88.80	95.10	92.60
Calves	cwt.	124.40	170.44	4/	129.00	141.00	142.00
Hogs	cwt.	48.10	44.10	‑	50.70	40.70	41.20
Lambs	cwt.	118.90	117.47	‑	114.00	96.10	4/
Index (1990-92=100)
Prices received					114	113	113
Prices paid					137	146	146
Ratio prices received to prices paid					83	77	77
1/     Mid-month price for current month.  Average price for entire month shown for previous periods. 2/     New York price is equivalent packinghouse door. 3/     Milk cow prices published quarterly. 4/     Price available next month.

Commercial Livestock Slaughter, January 1/

Species	Number Slaughtered				Total Live Weight
	New York		United States		New York		United States
	2005	2006	2005	2006	2005	2006	2005	2006
	1,000 head		1,000 head		Million pounds		Million pounds
Cattle	3.4	2.9	2.527.8	2.641.7	3.8	3.3	3,189.7	3,385.3
Calves	9.1	8.8	68.0	55.7	.8	2.0	22.3	20.5
Hogs	2.2	2.2	8.480.0	8.915.7	.5	.5	2,288.9	2,435.9
Sheep and lambs	3.6	3.4	208.5	223.7	.3	.3	28.8	32.2

1/  Slaughter in federal and non-federal inspected plants.  Excludes farm slaughter.

FEBRUARY MILK PRODUCTION UP 5 PERCENT

New York dairy herds produced 964 million pounds of milk during February.  A 5 percent increase in milk production per cow resulted in the increased total milk production compared to last year.  The number of milk cows totaled 649,000 head, down 1,000 from February of the previous year. Milk per cow averaged 1,485 pounds, up seventy pounds from the February 2005 rate.

Milk production in the 23 major States during February totaled 13.0 billion pounds, up 5.9 percent from February 2005. January production, at 14.0 billion pounds, was up 5.5 percent from January 2005.   Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 1,588 pounds for February, 66 pounds above February 2005. The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major States was 8.21 million head, 121,000 head more than February 2005, and 118,000 head more than January 2005.

Dairy Briefs

Item	Unit	New York			23 Major States
		Feb. 2005	Jan. 2006	Feb. 2006	Feb. 2005	Jan. 2006	Feb. 2006
Milk Production	Mil. Lb.	920	1,038	964	12,301	14,014	13,029
Milk per cow	Lb.	1,415	1,595	1,485	1,522	1,710	1,588
No. of milk cows	Thou. hd.	650	651	649	8,084	8,195	8,205

Dairy Products Manufactured

Item	Unit	New York			United States
		Jan. 2005	Dec. 2005	Jan. 2006	Jan. 2005	Dec. 2005	Jan. 2006
Butter	Thou. lb.	1,761	1,756	2,058	128,653	126,167	145,477
American cheese	Thou. lb.	5,876	5,703	5,825	322,188	325,024	317,278
Mozzarella cheese	Thou. lb.	14,469	15,239	15,705	251,399	267,131	259,676
Yogurt, plain and flavored	Thou. lb.	16,265	16,317	17,648	223,206	216,334	251,663
Ice cream, hard	Thou. gal.	2,136	1,466	2,063	60,440	55,565	61,211

 NEW YORK EGG PRODUCTION UP 1 PERCENT IN JANUARY

Egg production on New York farms totaled 101 million eggs in January 2006, up 1 percent from last year.  The number of hens and pullets of laying age, at 4.09 million, was down slightly from January 2005, and the rate of lay increased 1 percent to 24.70 eggs per layer.

U.S. egg production totaled 7.72 billion during January 2006, up 1 percent from last year. An indication of future egg supply, egg-type chicks hatched during January 2006 totaled 35.4 million, down 7 percent from January 2005.  Eggs in incubators totaled 33.5 million on February 1, 2006 down 2 percent from a year ago.

Poultry Briefs

Item	Unit	Jan. 2005	Dec. 2005	Jan. 2006	Jan. 2005	Dec. 2005	Jan. 2006
		New York			United States
Number of layers	Thou.	4,106	4,167	4,089	347,864	348,545	349,253
Eggs per layer	No.	24.35	24.72	24.70	21.92	22.35	22.11
Eggs produced	Mil.	100	103	101	7,626	7,791	7,721
		North and South Atlantic States			United States
Chicks hatched, egg-type	Thou.	2/	2/	2/	37,936	36,224	35,422
Chicks hatched, broiler type	Thou.	2/	2/	2/	796,026	807,848	804,073
Chicken eggs in incubators 1/
Egg-type	Thou.	9,917	10,535	9,736	34,202	35,547	33,497
Broiler-type	Thou.	248,170	253,837	253,754	654,044	660,613	660,973
1/ First day of following month. 2/   Data not published to avoid disclosing individual operations.