In This Issue:

•   #Winter Wheat
•   #Acreage, Yield and Production of Small Grains
•   #Hay Stocks
•   #Corn Production
•   #Hog Inventory
•   #Turkey Production
•   #Dry Beans
•   #Prices Received
•   #Grain Stocks
•   #Livestock Slaughter
•   #Dairy
•  #Poultry

New York producers seeded a total of 140,000 acres of winter wheat in the fall of 2001 for harvest in 2002. This is up 12 percent from the 125,000 acres seeded a year ago.

U.S. winter wheat seeded area for 2002 is expected to total 41.0 million acres, down fractionally from 2001. This is the smallest acreage since 1971.

New York farms held a total of 2.25 million tons of hay on December 1, 2001, compared with 2.28 million tons on hand December 1, 2000. This is a decrease of 30,000 tons from 2000.

Nationally, hay stocks on farms December 1, 2001 was estimated at 111 million tons. This estimate reflects a 5 percent increase from last year's 106 million tons. Stock increases occurred in 20 of the 48 contiguous states.

New York grain corn production totaled 56.7 million bushels in 2001,up 21 percent from 2000's 47.0 million bushels. Acres harvested for grain totaled 540,000, up 13 percent from the 480,000 acres harvested last year. The statewide yield, at 105 bushels per acre, was up 7 bushels from last year.

Pork producers in New York had 75,000 hogs and pigs on hand December 1, 2001. This total was down 6 percent from the 80,000 head on hand a year earlier but 10 percent above the 1996-2000 average December 1 inventory of 68,200 head.

Of the current inventory, 9,000 hogs are for breeding purposes, down 10 percent from the previous December and 6 percent below the 1996-2000 average. The remaining 66,000 hogs and pigs, raised for home use or the slaughter market, is 6 percent below a year ago but up 13 percent from the five-year average.

The 1,200 New York hog farms produced a crop of 138,000 pigs during 2001, up 7 percent from a year earlier. Nationally, the 2001 pig crop declined 1 percent from a year earlier to 99 million head.

The U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on farms as of December 1, 2001 totaled 58.8 million head. This was 1 percent below December 2000, and slightly below September 1, 2001. Breeding inventory, at 6.21 million head, was down 1 percent from December 1, 2000. Market hog inventory, at 52.6 million head, was 1 percent below both last year and the last quarter.

U.S. hog producers intend to farrow 2.84 million sows during the December 2001-February 2002 quarter, 3 percent above the actual farrowings during the same period in 2001 and 2 percent above 2000. Intended farrowings for March-May 2002, at 2.90 million sows, are 1 percent above the same period last year and 1 percent above 2000.

Turkey producers in New York raised 510,000 turkeys during 2001, unchanged from 2000. The U.S. total of 272 million turkeys raised in 2001 is up 1 percent from the 2000 total. Minnesota ranked first in the number raised with 44.0 million, followed by North Carolina with 43.0 million, and Arkansas with 27.0 million.

Turkey growers in the 23 major producing States intend to raise 1 percent more birds in 2002 than they did in 2001. The number of turkeys actually raised in 2002 may vary from growers' intentions depending on feed costs, supply of hatching eggs, cost of poults, and prices growers receive for turkeys during the next few months.

Prices received by New York farmers during December were mostly lower compared with a month earlier. Prices for oats, soybeans, apples, wholesale milk, and eggs decreased while prices for corn, wheat, and potatoes increased. Corn averaged $2.30 per bushel, up 5 cents from November. Wheat, at $2.74 per bushel, increased 3 cents. Soybeans brought $4.04 per bushel, down 26 cents from November.

Empire State dairy farmers received an average of $13.80 per hundredweight of milk sold during December, down $1.80 from the previous month. Eggs averaged 47.4 cents per dozen, down 6.0 cents from November. The December All Farm Products Index of Prices Received by U.S. Farmers was 93 based on 1990-92=100, unchanged from the November index.

New York dairy herds produced 972 million pounds of milk during December, up 2.9 percent from the December 2000 level. The increase was the result of a larger rate per cow. The number of milk cows totaled 670,000, unchanged from December of the previous year. Milk per cow averaged 1,450 pounds, up 3 percent from December 2000.

Milk production in the 20 major states during December totaled 12.0 billion pounds, up 1.0 percent from production in these same states during December 2000. Production per cow averaged 1,547 pounds for December, 28 pounds above December 2000. The number of cows on farms in the 20 major states was 7.74 million head, 62,000 head less than December 2000, but 10,000 head more than November 2001.

Egg production on farms across New York State in November totaled 91 million eggs, a decrease of 4 percent from a year earlier. A decline was the result of a lower egg laying rate and a decrease in the number of layers. During November, the number of hens and pullets of laying age averaged 4.01 million.

Laying flocks in the United States produced 7.17 billion eggs during November 2001, up 2 percent from a year ago. An indication of future egg supply, chicks hatched in the U.S. during November for the purpose of egg production totaled 31.6 million, down 2 percent from a year earlier. Eggs in incubators totaled 29.0 million on December 1, 2001, down 7 percent from a year ago.

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