ILLINOIS
FARM REPORT


RELEASED: March 24, 2000 IFR-00-04
NASS Logo   Illinois
  Agricultural
  Statistics Service
P.O. Box 19283, Springfield, IL 62794
Phone: (217) 492-4295
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Illinois Department of Agriculture
http://www.agr.state.il.us/agstats.htm

VOL. 21, NO. 4

Highlights
Crop Values
Farm Labor
Number of Farms
Layers & Egg Production
Agricultural Prices
Milk Production

CROP VALUES

SEASON AVERAGE PRICE & VALUE OF PRODUCTION OF
PRINCIPAL CROPS, ILLINOIS & UNITED STATES, 1997-99



Crop

Illinois

United States

1997 1998 1999 1997 1998 1999
- Price in dollars per unit, value in thousand dollars -
Corn for Grain
Season avg. price per bushel 2.53 2.04 2.05 2.43 1.94 1.90
Value of production 3,606,389 3,005,838 3,056,550 22,351,507 18,922,084 17,949,707
Soybeans for Beans
Season avg. price per bushel 6.56 5.01 4.95 6.47 4.93 4.75
Value of production 2,806,696 2,325,642 2,193,345 17,372,628 13,493,891 12,451,149
Winter Wheat for Grain
Season avg. price per bushel 3.14 2.35 2.10 3.23 2.52 2.40
Value of production 208,779 135,360 127,260 5,948,655 4,740,361 4,059,968
Sorghum for Grain
Season avg. price per bushel 2.38 1.90 1.65 2.21 1.66 1.65
Value of production 24,907 15,044 15,205 1,408,909 905,468 970,966
Oats for Grain
Season avg. price per bushel 1.71 1.52 1.30 1.60 1.10 1.10
Value of production 9,491 5,958 5,538 273,284 199,748 169,873
Rye for Grain
Season avg. price per bushel 2.90 2.20 1.95 3.75 2.49 2.28
Value of production 696 733 396 30,120 30,404 25,054
Alfalfa Hay
Season avg. price per ton 107.00 89.50 83.50 107.00 88.10 80.00
Value of production 242,034 225,540 167,000 8,099,822 6,951,140 6,254,082
Other Hay
Season avg. price per ton 82.00 66.00 61.50 75.70 71.80 66.30
Value of production 73,554 57,750 45,203 5,150,003 4,655,594 4,645,811
Sweet Corn - Processing
Season avg. price per ton 97.90 90.10 96.20 74.90 73.30 71.10
Value of production 10,397 8,231 9,293 250,329 238,748 234,448
Sweet Corn - Fresh Market
Season avg. price per cwt. 14.60 17.60 20.50 17.70 17.20 16.80
Value of production 10,293 9,328 10,886 418,617 452,410 458,632
Snap Beans - Processing
Season avg. price per ton 210.00 201.00 197.00 176.00 172.00 173.00
Value of production 8,936 7,857 9,756 128,032 125,373 134,501
Apples - Commercial Crop 1/
Season avg. price per pound 0.196 0.186 0.177 0.154 0.123 0.160
Value of production 13,103 6,504 9,581 1,575,403 1,322,319 1,678,891
Peaches - Total Crop 1/
Season avg. price per pound 0.406 0.433 0.389 0.177 0.192 0.192
Value of production 4,060 5,846 6,613 444,137 447,297 464,551
1/ Utilized production.

FARM LABOR

HIRED WORKERS: NUMBER & HOURS WORKED, BY REGIONS, JANUARY 9-15, 2000 1/



REGION 2/

Hired

Number
of workers

Expected to be employed

Number of
hours worked

150 day
or more

149 days
or less

  

Thousands

LAKE 48 39 9 31.4
CORNBELT I 36 28 8 31.0
CORNBELT II 19 17 2 41.1
U.S. 666 528 138 38.2

HIRED WORKERS: WAGE RATES FOR TYPE OF WORKERS
& ALL HIRED WORKERS, BY REGIONS, JANUARY 9-15, 2000 1/



REGION 2/

Type of worker

Wage rates
for all
hired workers



Field



Livestock

Field & livestock
combined
 

Dollars per hour

LAKE 8.72 7.96 8.11 8.83
CORNBELT I 8.51 8.45 8.48 9.32
CORNBELT II 7.31 7.87 7.80 8.13
U.S. 7.32 7.64 7.43 8.12
1/ Excludes agricultural service workers.
 2/ Regions consist of the following:
    LAKE: MI, MN, WI;
    CORNBELT I: IL, IN, OH;
    CORNBELT II: IA, MO;
    UNITED STATES: Excludes Alaska.

NUMBER OF FARMS

While the number of farms in Illinois has remained stable at 79,000 for the past several years, there has been a change in the distribution of farms by size. Both the number of small farms (sales less than $10,000 a year) and large farms (sales greater than $100,000 a year) have increased while the number of medium-sized farms (sales between $10,000 and $100,000 a year) has dropped.

NUMBER OF FARMS BY ECONOMIC SALES CLASS, ILLINOIS, 1997-99



Year
$1,000
to $9,999
$10,000
to $99,999
$100,000
and over



Total
  

Number

1999
 28,500 26,500 24,000 79,000
1998
 27,700 27,800 23,500 79,000
1997
 27,700 27,800 23,500 79,000


LAYERS AND EGG PRODUCTION

LAYERS & EGG PRODUCTION, ILLINOIS & UNITED STATES,
DECEMBER 1999-FEBRUARY 2000
      
Illinois
December
January
February 1/
1998
1999
1999
2000
1999
2000
Average Number of Layers on hand (thousand) 2,959 3,432 2,891 3,511 2,783 3,607
   
Eggs produced (million) 63 80 63 77 57 75
       
United States
Average Number of Layers on hand (thousand) 321,782 328,824 322,326 328,557 322,797 329,892
   
Eggs produced (million) 7,047 7,279 6,979 7,155 6,281 6,662
1/ Preliminary.

AGRICULTURAL PRICES

February prices received by Illinois farmers for all commodities increased one point from last month, and is at 78 percent of the base. The current year's base is computed by multiplying the average production for the five-year period by the average price for each year. These five years are summed and then divided by five to arrive at an average (base) for the period. The current five-year average production is then multiplied by the current price and divided by the average for the five years to arrive at the current index. The February all crops index, at 73 percent of the base, is one point more than the revised January figure but four points less than February 1999. Prices increased for corn, soybeans, sorghum, wheat, oats and hay. The all livestock index is at 94 percent of the base, three points higher than the revised January figure. The price of hogs, cattle, calves and milk increased. The hog-corn ratio is at 19.1.

The preliminary U.S. All Farm Products Index of Prices Received in February was 92 based on 1990-92=100, up two points from the January index. The seasonal change in the mix of commodities farmers sell affects the overall index. Higher seasonal marketings of milk, cattle, broilers and hogs more than offset the relatively lower marketings of corn, soybeans, tobacco and cotton. These marketing changes accounted for most of the February index increase. Higher prices for hogs, eggs, corn and soybeans offset price decreases for lettuce, broilers, milk and apples. Compared with February 1999, the All Farm Products Index was four points lower. Price decreases from February 1999 for milk, lettuce, oranges and cotton more than offset price increases for cattle, hogs, calves and apples.

INDEX OF PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS
Commodity Jan.
1999 		Feb.
1999 		Jan.
2000 		Feb. 15,
2000
ILLINOIS 1993-97=100 1994-98=100
All Farm Products 82 77 77* 78
All Crops 83 77 72* 73
Food grains 56 50 60* 65
Feed grains/hay 82 80 73* 73
Soybeans 85 76 71* 73
All Livestock 82 77 91* 94
Meat animals 71 70 93* 96
Dairy products 138 115 84* 86
  
UNITED STATES

1990-92=100

Prices Received 97 96 90* 92
All Crops 97 98 87* 89
Food grains 102 101 85* 87
Feed grains/hay 91 91 84* 87
Oilseeds 96 88 82* 85
All Livestock 96 94 94* 94
Meat animals 75 77 90* 91
Dairy products 133 119 92* 90
Prices Paid 115 115 118* 119
Parity Ratio 1/ 84 83 76* 77
1/ Prices received index divided by prices paid index.
 * Revised.

PRICES RECEIVED BY FARMERS 1/



Commodity

Unit		 Illinois United States
Jan.
1999		 Feb.
1999		 Jan.
 2000		 Feb. 15,
 2000		 Jan.
1999		 Feb.
 1999		 Jan.
2000		 Feb. 15,
2000
      

Dollars

Corn Bushels 2.12 2.13 1.97* 2.05 2.06 2.05 1.90* 1.96
Soybeans Bushels 5.46 4.95 4.74* 4.90 5.32 4.80 4.62* 4.75
Sorghum Cwt. 3.62 3.61 3.44* 3.55 3.05 3.09 2.86* 3.06
Wheat, all Bushels 2.16 1.88 2.27* 2.35 2.84 2.73 2.50* 2.58
Oats Bushels 1.63 1.63 1.30* 1.35 1.20 1.20 1.20* 1.27
Hay, all baled Tons 86.00 87.00 81.00   82.00 78.50 79.90 71.80* 72.60
Alfalfa hay, bld Tons 91.00 92.00 85.00   87.00 81.40 83.70 74.10* 77.40
Other hay, bld Tons 68.00 65.00 63.00   64.00 70.60 70.10 65.90* 66.70
Hogs, all Cwt. 25.10 25.70 35.50* 39.20 26.50 27.70 36.80* 39.60
Barrows, Gilts Cwt. 25.70 26.50 35.70* 39.40 26.90 28.20 37.00* 39.90
Sows Cwt. 18.40 17.50 32.90* 36.80 18.20 18.80 32.80* 36.10
Beef cattle Cwt. 59.60 60.60 66.90* 67.40 59.00 60.60 67.80* 67.50
Cows Cwt. 28.70 34.10 33.20* 35.50 33.40 34.70 35.90* 37.00
Steers, Heifers Cwt. 60.20 61.10 67.60* 68.00 62.20 63.60 71.60* 70.80
Calves Cwt. 100.00 105.00 114.00   116.00 83.20 86.90 102.00* 105.00
Milk cows Head 1,290.00 2/ 1,300.00   2/ 1,250.00 2/ 1,330.00* 2/
Milk, all Cwt. 17.90 15.00 11.30* 11.70 17.40 15.50 12.00* 11.80
Milk, fluid Cwt. 17.90 15.20 11.30   3/ 17.50 15.60 12.00* 11.90
Milk, mfg. Cwt. 17.30 12.50 11.20   3/ 15.30 12.30 10.70* 10.50
Hog-corn ratio   11.8 12.1 18.0* 19.1 12.9 13.5 19.4* 20.2

1/ Prices received represents the average of all grades or classes at point of first sale and should not be
    confused with market quotations.
2/ Estimated in January, April, July and October.
3/ State prices not published.
* Revised.

MILK PRODUCTION

Milk production during 1999 in Illinois totaled 2.03 billion pounds, down four percent from 1998. The number of milk cows on farms averaged 123,000, four percent fewer than 1998. Annual production per cow, at 16,496 pounds in 1999, decreased slightly from the previous year.

U.S. milk production during 1999 totaled 162.7 billion pounds, up three percent from the previous year. The production per cow, at 17,771, was three percent above the 1998 rate. The average number of milk cows, at 9.16 million head in 1999, remained essentially unchanged from the previous year.

In January, 2000, milk production in Illinois totaled 180 million pounds, up one million pounds from last year. The number of milk cows on farms averaged 120,000 head, down 5,000 from this same time in 1999. Milk per cow averaged five percent higher than a year ago, increasing to 1,500 pounds.

Milk production during January in the 20 major States totaled 12.2 billion pounds, up five percent from January 1999. Production per cow averaged 1,576 pounds during January 2000, 58 pounds above January 1999. There was an average of 7.76 million head of milk cows in the 20 States during January 2000, up 69,000 head from 1999.

MILK PRODUCTION, ILLINOIS & UNITED STATES, JANUARY-DECEMBER 1998-99

     

Illinois

United States

1998
1999
1999 as
% of 1998
1998
1999
1999 as
% of 1998
Milk Production:
Number of milk cows Head (000) 128 123 96 9,154 9,156 100
Milk production per cow Lbs. 16,570 16,496 100 17,189 17,771 103
Total milk production Mil. lbs. 2,121 2,029 96 157,348 162,711 103


MILK PRODUCTION, ILLINOIS & 20 STATES, JANUARY 1999-2000

     

Illinois

20 States

1999
2000

2000 as
% of 1999
1999
2000

2000 as
% of 1999
Milk Production:
Number of milk cows Head (000) 125 120 96 7,694 7,763 101
Milk production per cow Lbs. 1,430 1,500 105 1,518 1,576 104
Total milk production Mil. lbs. 179 180 101 11,679 12,232 105

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World Wide Web

The Illinois Agricultural Statistics Service has a home page at:
http://www.agr.state.il.us/agstats.htm

The NASS headquarters office home page can be found at:
http://www.usda.gov/nass/

There you can find reports issued by NASS as well as links to state statistical offices. You will also find many charts showing long term trends in agriculture.


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