ILLINOIS
FARM REPORT
RELEASED: APRIL 1, 1999 IFR-99-05
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Illinois Agricultural Statistics Service |
Phone: (217) 492-4295
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Illinois Department of Agriculture
http://www.agr.state.il.us/agstats.htm
ILLINOIS
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Phone: (217) 492-4295 U.S. Department of Agriculture Illinois Department of Agriculture http://www.agr.state.il.us/agstats.htm |
VOL. 20, NO. 05
| Prospective Plantings Grain Stocks Hogs and Pigs Wool Production Milk Production |
| Prospective Plantings for
1999 Farmers in Illinois expect to plant 10.8 million acres of corn for all purposes this year. This is two percent more than the 10.6 million acres planted in 1998 but two percent less than 1997 plantings. The increase is due to some prevented planting in the southeast during the spring of 1998 because of excess rain as well as a decrease in the acreage of several other crops planted and to be planted for 1999. Acreage planted to corn in the past ten years ranged from a low of 10.2 million in 1995 to a high of 11.6 million in 1994. Intentions are for 10.8 million acres to be planted to soybeans in 1999. This would be the most soybeans ever planted in Illinois, one percent more than the previous record of 10.7 million acres planted in 1998. Acreage planted to soybeans has gradually increased over the past ten years and ranged from 9.2 million in 1990 to a high of 10.7 million last year. Farmers seeded an estimated 1.05 million acres to winter wheat last fall, 16 percent less than the 1.25 million acres seeded in 1997. Acreage planted to wheat this decade has ranged from a low of 1.15 million acres for the 1994 crop, to a high of 2.05 million acres for the 1990 crop. As of March 26, the crop was rated eight percent excellent, 56 percent good, 29 percent fair, six percent poor, and one percent very poor.
United States Propsective Plantings for 1999 Corn growers intend to plant 78.2 million acres of corn for all purposes in 1999, down two percent from both last year and 1997. If these intentions materialize, this would be the lowest planted acreage since 1995. Expected acreages are down in the upper Midwest, Southwest, Texas and Southeast due to a shift to other crops. Intended acreage is up slightly in the central Corn Belt due in part to land coming back into production after flooding in 1998. After a relatively mild and dry winter in the major corn-producing States, early-March snows provided beneficial moisture. Mid-month warm, dry weather aided tillage and fertilizing activities in the western and central Corn Belt. Fieldwork was less active in the eastern Corn Belt as fields slowly dried from earlier precipitation. Soybean producers intend to plant 73.1 million acres in 1999, up one percent from last year. If realized, this will be the largest planted area for soybeans on record. Of the 30 soybean producing states, producers in ten states intend to plant more acres this year, while producers in 14 states are indicating fewer acres to be planted in 1999. Of the major producing states, the largest increases are in Nebraska and South Dakota, up 500,000 and 450,000 acres, respectively. The two largest soybean states, Iowa at 10.9 million and Illinois at 10.8 million, are increasing area planted by 400,000 and 100,000 acres, respectively. Acreage reductions are most evident in eight of the Southern region states with Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas showing large reductions. Winter wheat planted area for harvest in 1999 remains at 43.4 million acres. This is down seven percent from 1998. Class acreages are also unchanged from the Seedings report. Some minor, offsetting Soft Red area changes, did occur after mid-December. March 1 Grain Stocks Corn stocks in Illinois on March 1, 1999 are estimated at 938.9 million bushels, ten percent above a year earlier. The December- February disappearance totaled 421.7 million bushels, 13 percent more than last year. On-farm stocks, at 490 million bushels, were up 11 percent from a year earlier and accounted for 52 percent of the state total. Off-farm stocks were up eight percent from March 1, 1998. Soybean stocks are estimated at a record high for March 1, with 278.1 million bushels stored in all positions. The December- February disappearance totaled 153.7 million bushels, three percent less than last year. On-farm stocks, at 155 million bushels, were up 35 percent from a year earlier and accounted for 56 percent of the total stocks. Off-farm stocks were 20 percent above last year and totaled 123.1 million bushels. Wheat stocks are estimated at 29.8 million bushels, 74 percent above last March. This is the highest March 1 level since the reference date was changed in the 1986-1987 marketing year. Off-farm stocks, at 27.8 million bushels, accounted for 93 percent of the total stocks in Illinois. U.S. corn stocks in all positions on March 1, 1999 totaled 5.70 billion bushels, up 15 percent from March 1, 1998. Of the total stocks, 3.57 billion bushels were stored on farms, up 20 percent from a year ago. Off-farm stocks, at 2.13 billion bushels, were up eight percent from a year ago. The December 1998-February 1999 indicated disappearance is 2.36 billion bushels, two percent above the disappearance of 2.31 billion bushels during the same period a year earlier. Soybeans stored in all positions on March 1, 1999 totaled 1.46 billion bushels, up 21 percent from March 1, 1998. On-farm stocks, estimated at 815 million bushels, were up 28 percent from last March and accounted for 56 percent of the March 1, 1999 stocks. Off-farm stocks, at 643 million bushels, were 14 percent higher than the previous year. Indicated disappearance for the December 1998-February 1999 quarter totaled 728 million bushels, nine percent below the same period one year ago. All wheat stored in all positions on March 1, 1999 totaled 1.44 billion bushels, up 24 percent from a year ago to the biggest March number since 1988. Farm stocks are 470 million bushels, up 18 percent from last year. Off-farm stocks, at 975 million bushels, are up 27 percent. Disappearance for the quarter ending March 1 is 451 million bushels, down slightly from the same period in 1998.
Hogs and Pigs The number of hogs and pigs in Illinois on March 1, 1999 was 4.35 million, seven percent less than were on hand on March 1, 1998 and one percent less than were on hand March 1, 1997. This was 500 thousand less than were on hand on December 1, 1998 and is the lowest inventory on record since during the "Great Depression" era in December 1937. Breeding hogs on hand March 1, 1999 were estimated at 470 thousand head, 15 percent less than a year earlier, while market hogs, at 3.88 million head, were down seven percent. The pig crop during December 1998 and January and February of 1999 was 1.83 million, six percent below the same period in 1998. There were 210 thousand sows that farrowed, 15 thousand less than a year earlier. The litter rate for the quarter averaged a record 8.7 pigs saved per litter, up from the previous record of 8.6 recorded during each of the previous four quarters. Farrowing intentions for the March through May quarter of 1999 is 210 thousand, 45 thousand less than farrowed during this period a year earlier. The first estimate of intentions for the June through August quarter of 1999 is for 200 thousand sows to farrow, 30 thousand less than farrowed during this period in 1998. U.S. inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, 1999 was 59.9 million head. This was one percent below March 1998, and four percent below December 1, 1998. Breeding inventory, at 6.53 million head, was down six percent from March 1, 1998 and down two percent from December 1, 1998. Market hog inventory, at 53.3 million head, was slightly above last year, but four percent below last quarter. The December 1998-February 1999 U.S. pig crop, at 25.3 million head, was one percent less than 1998, but nine percent more than 1997. Sows farrowed during this period totaled 2.89 million head, one percent below last year. The sows farrowed during this quarter represented 43 percent of the breeding herd. The average pigs per litter rose to an average 8.73 pigs saved per litter for the December-February period, compared to 8.70 pigs last year. Pigs saved per litter by size of operation ranged from 7.60 for operations with 1-99 hogs to 8.90 for operations with more than 5,000 hogs and pigs. U.S. hog producers intend to have 2.88 million sows farrow during the March-May 1999 quarter, seven percent below the actual farrowings during the same period in 1998 and one percent below 1997. Intended farrowings for June-August 1999, at 2.84 million sows, are seven percent below the same period last year and four percent below 1997.
Wool Production Illinois wool production in 1998 totaled 495,000 pounds, nine percent below 1997 production. The number of sheep and lambs shorn in 1998 was 73,000, down 11 percent from the previous year. The average price per pound for wool, at 25 cents, decreased 18 cents from 1997. The decrease in production and average price paid for wool resulted in a 47 percent decrease for the total value of wool production, to $124,000 in 1998. Shorn wool production in the United States during 1998 was 49.2 million pounds, down eight percent from 1997. Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 6.43 million head, a decrease of eight percent from 1997. The average price paid for wool sold in 1998 was $0.60 per pound for a total value of $29.4 million, down 35 percent from $44.9 million in 1997.
Milk Production Milk production in Illinois totaled 164 million pounds during February 1999, down three percent from last year. The number of milk cows on farms averaged 125,000 head, down 4,000 from this same time in 1998. Milk per cow averaged 1,310 pounds, unchanged from a year earlier. Milk production during February in the 20 States totaled 10.8 billion pounds, up four percent from February 1998. Production per cow averaged 1,407 pounds during February 1999, up 60 pounds per cow from a year earlier. There was an average of 7.7 million head in the 20 States during February 1999, down slightly from 1998.
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