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•  #Hog Inventory
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•  #Grain Stocks
•  #Red Meat Production
•  #Prices Received
•  #Livestock Slaughter
•  #Dairy
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Preliminary planting intentions of New York farmers as of March 1, 2002 indicate increases for most row crops and small grains. Corn, wheat, barley, dry bean, and dry hay acreage are expected to increase while plantings to soybeans are expected to be lower. Acreage planted to oats is expected to be the same as a year earlier. Empire State farmers intend to plant 1.07 million acres of corn for all purposes (grain and silage) for the 2002 crop year, up 4 percent from last year. Soybean plantings are expected to decrease by 3 percent to 155,000 acres. Dry bean intentions, at 26,000 acres, are up 13 percent from a year earlier. New York farmers intend to harvest 1.70 million acres of dry hay in 2002, 2 percent above last year. Wheat planted acreage totaled 140,000 acres, up 12 percent from 2001. Oat plantings are expected to total 95,000 acres, unchanged from a year earlier. Acreage to be harvested for grain, at 75,000 acres, is down 6 percent. Barley plantings are expected to total 19,000 acres, 27 percent above last year.

Nationally, corn growers intend to plant 79.0 million acres of corn for all purposes in 2002, up 4 percent from 2001. Farmers intend to plant 32 percent of their acreage with varieties developed using biotechnology, up 6 percentage points from 2001. Soybean intentions are estimated at 73.0 million acres, down 2 percent from last year. Producers intend to plant 74 percent of the soybean acreage to herbicide resistant varieties in 2002. All wheat planted area is expected to total 59.0 million acres, down 1 percent from 2001. Oat acreage seeded and to be seeded for the 2002 crop year is expected to total 5.13 million acres, up 16 percent from last year's final planted acres. Growers intend to harvest 2.53 million acres for grain, up 33 percent from last year. If intentions are realized, planted and harvested acres would be the highest since 1995. Dry bean intentions, at 1.77 million acres, are up 24 percent from last year and less than 1 percent above 2000. Producers expect to harvest 63.7 million acres of dry hay in 2002, up less than 1 percent from 2001.

U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 2002 was 58.7 million head. This was 2 percent above March 2001, but 1 percent below December 1, 2001. Breeding inventory, at 6.24 million head, was up slightly. Market hog inventory totaled 52.5 million head, 2 percent above last year.

The December 2001-February 2002 pig crop, at 24.7 million head, was 3 percent more than 2001, and 1 percent more than 2000. Producers intend to have 2.90 million sows farrow during the March-May quarter, 1 percent above the actual farrowings during the same period last year. Intended farrowings for June-August 2002, at 2.90 million, are 1 percent above 2001.
 

Corn stored in all positions on March 1, 2002 totaled 5.80 billion bushels, down 4 percent from March 1, 2001. On farm stocks totaled 3.36 billion bushels, down 7 percent from a year ago. Disappearance from December 2001-February 2002 was 2.47 billion bushels, 1 percent below the disappearance of 2.49 billion bushels during the same period a year earlier.

All wheat stocks totaled 1.21 billion bushels, down 10 percent from a year ago. Stocks on farms are 339 million bushels, down 12 percent from last year. Disappearance for the quarter ending March 1 is 413 million bushels, down slightly from the same period in 2001.

Commercial red meat production in New York slaughter plants totaled 41 million pounds dressed weight in 2001. The number of calves slaughtered in the State, at 142,300 head, was down 1 percent from 2000. New York ranked second in 2001 (third in 2000) in the number of calves slaughtered during the year, accounting for 14.1 percent of the Nation's total calf slaughter. Cattle slaughter in the Empire State totaled 48,500 head during 2001, down 23 percent from a year earlier and 26 percent below 1999.

Red meat production for the United States totaled 45.8 billion pounds in 2001, slightly lower than the record high set in 2000. Nationally, commercial cattle slaughter during 2001 totaled 35.4 million head, down 2 percent from 2000. Calf slaughter totaled 1.01 million head, down 11 percent from a year ago. Hog slaughter totaled 98.0 million head, virtually unchanged from 2000. Sheep and lamb slaughter, at 3.22 million head, was down 7 percent from 2000.

Prices received by New York farmers during March for selected commodities were mostly lower compared with a month earlier. Prices for corn, oats, wheat, hay, and milk declined while prices for soybeans and eggs increased. Potato and apple prices were unchanged from February.

Grain corn prices averaged $2.31 per bushel during March, down 2 cents from February and 9 cents below March 2001. Oat prices fell 11 cents from the previous month to $1.82 per bushel, 28 cents above a year earlier. Wheat, at $2.64 per bushel, was down 14 cents from a month earlier but 48 cents more than March 2001. Soybeans returned $4.28 per bushel, up 64 cents from February but 32 cents less than a year ago. Hay averaged $102.00 per ton baled, down $7.00 from February and $4.00 below a year earlier. Potatoes, at $9.30 per hundredweight (cwt.), were unchanged from February and 95 cents above March 2001. Apples for fresh market averaged $17.50 per cwt., unchanged from the previous month but $1.30 above a year earlier.

New York dairy farmers received an average of $13.20 per cwt. of milk sold during March, down 60 cents from the previous month and $1.60 below last March. Poultry producers received an average of 50.4 cents per dozen eggs sold, up 7.6 cents from February but 9.4 cents below March 2001.

At the National level, the preliminary Prices Received by Farmers Index for All Farm Products in March was 106, using a 1990-92=100 base period, up 7 points from the February index. A record price for lettuce, along with other increases for eggs, cattle, and tomatoes more than offset decreased prices for broilers, milk, hogs, and broccoli. The seasonal change in the mix of commodities farmers sell often affects the overall index. Higher marketings for strawberries, lettuce, milk, and tomatoes more than offset decreased marketings of cattle, oranges, corn, and cotton. Compared with March 2001, the Prices Received Index was up 2 points. Higher prices for lettuce, strawberries, potatoes, and apples more than offset lower prices for broilers, hogs, cattle, and tomatoes.

New York dairy herds produced 1.05 billion pounds of milk during March, up 5.3 percent from the March 2001 level. The increase was the result of more milk cows and a larger rate per cow. The number of milk cows totaled 678,000 head, 8,000 above March of the previous year. Milk per cow averaged 1,550 pounds, up 4 percent from March 2001.

Milk production in the 20 major states during March totaled 12.8 billion pounds, up 3.2 percent from production in these same states during March 2001. Production per cow averaged 1,650 pounds for March, 51 pounds above March 2001. The number of cows on farms in the 20 major states was 7.75 million head, 2,000 head more than March 2001.

Egg production on New York farms totaled 87 million eggs in February 2002, down 3 percent from the same month a year earlier. The number of hens and pullets of laying age, at 3.96 million, was down 6 percent from February 2001, while the rate of lay was up 3 percent to 21.97 eggs per layer.

Laying flocks in the United States produced 6.56 billion eggs during February 2002, up 1 percent from the the previous February. An indication of future egg supply, chicks hatched in the U.S. during February for the purpose of egg production totaled 34.3 million, down 10 percent from February 2001. Eggs in incubators on March 1, 2002 totaled 32.8 million, down 8 percent from the March 1, 2001 total.

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