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CROPS

KANSAS AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE
Kansas Department of Agriculture
PO Box 3534
Topeka, KS 66601-3534
Phone: 785-233-2230

Released: September 14, 2001
Volume 01, No. 9


Text Box


INCLUDED
IN THIS
ISSUE

CROP
FORECAST

AGRICULTURAL
EXPORTS


MARKET
IMPLICATIONS



SORGHUM AND SOYBEAN YIELD FORECASTS LOWERED

Kansas corn production is expected to total 393.7 million bushels, unchanged from August 1 but down 5 percent from the previous year's production of 416.0 million bushels (see table 1). Planted acreage is 3.30 million acres, down 150,000 acres from a year ago. Acreage expected to be harvested for grain is 3.10 million acres, 3 percent below last year. Corn yields are expected to average 127 bushels per acre, unchanged from the August forecast but 3 bushels below last year's yield.

Sorghum grain production is forecast at 232.5 million bushels, down 7 percent form August 1 but up 23 percent from last year's production of 188.8 million bushels. Kansas still leads the nation in sorghum production. Yields are expected to average 62 bushels per acre, down 5 bushels from the August forecast but 3 bushels above last year's yield. Planted acreage is 4.0 million acres, up 500,000 acres from 2000. The acreage for harvest, at 3.75 million acres, is up 17 percent from 2000. As of September 2, 73 percent of the sorghum acreage was turning color, compared to last year at 80 percent and the average of 61 percent. Twenty-four percent of the acreage across the State was mature, compared to 36 percent last year and 15 percent for the five year average. Condition of the crop was 43 percent good to excellent, 32 percent fair, and 25 percent poor to very poor.

Soybean production is forecast at 87.0 million bushels, down 3 percent from August 1 but 74 percent above last year's crop. Acreage for harvest is expected to total 2.90 million acres, up 16 percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 30 bushels per acre, down 1 bushel from August 1 but 10 bushels above 2000. Nineteen percent of the acreage was dropping leaves, compared to 62 percent last year. Condition was rated 42 percent good to excellent, 38 percent fair, 15 percent poor, and 5 percent very poor.


Table 1-- KANSAS CROP PRODUCTION, SEPTEMBER 1, 2001
Crop &
Unit
Planted 1/ Harvested Yield per Acre 2/ Production
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
1,000 Acres Per Unit (000's)
Winter Wheat, bu. 3/ 9,800 9,900 9,400 8,400 37 41 347,800 344,400
Corn Grain, bu. 3,450 3,300 3,200 3,100 130 127 416,000 393,700
Sorghum Grain, bu. 3,500 4,000 3,200 3,750 59 62 188,800 232,500
Soybeans, bu. 2,950 3,000 2,500 2,900 20 30 50,000 87,000
Dry Beans, cwt. 3/ 4/ 18 .0 15 .0 16 .0 14 .0 1,810 1,850 289 259
Cotton, 480 lb. bales 3/ 4/ 40 .0 44 .0 37 .0 37 .0 288 272 22 .2 21 .0
All Hay, tons 3/ - - 2,800 3,300 2 .34 2 .23 6,540 7,370
    Alfalfa Hay, tons 3/ - - 900 950 4 .10 3 .80 3,690 3,610
    Other Hay, tons 3/ - - 1,900 2,350 1 .50 1 .60 2,850 3,760
1/ Planted for all purposes. 2/ Production divided by harvested acres rounded to whole bushels.
3/ Estimate carried forward from earlier forecast. 4/ Yield in pounds.


Table 2-- KANSAS CROP PRODUCTION FORECAST, SEPTEMBER 1, 2001, BY DISTRICTS
Crop And District Acres Planted,
All Purposes 1/
Acres Harvested
for Grain 1/
Yield
per Acre
Production
2000 2001 2000 2001 % Prev.
Year
2000 2001 2000 2001 % Prev.
Year
------------ 1,000 Acres ------------ Bushels 1,000 Bushels
CORN
Northwest 621 560 562 535 95 104 118 58,695 63,100 108
West Central 315 260 286 235 82 97 98 27,605 23,100 84
Southwest 931 810 899 780 87 176 170 158,310 132,300 84
North Central 248 230 215 209 97 89 105 19,150 21,900 114
Central 128 140 112 126 113 114 94 12,730 11,900 94
South Central 384 410 357 385 108 146 133 52,195 51,200 98
Northeast 432 480 409 455 111 125 125 51,215 56,800 111
East Central 246 250 225 229 102 94 89 21,055 20,300 96
Southeast 145 160 135 146 108 111 90 15,045 13,100 87
    State 3,450 3,300 3,200 3,100 97 130 127 416,000 393,700 95
SORGHUM GRAIN
Northwest 180 210 152 191 126 49 65 7,378 12,350 167
West Central 364 575 321 541 169 58 68 18,577 36,900 199
Southwest 557 680 523 644 123 51 50 26,546 32,450 122
North Central 609 610 529 565 107 46 76 24,219 42,750 177
Central 562 575 527 532 101 62 63 32,665 33,300 102
South Central 598 695 550 657 120 60 42 32,937 27,300 83
Northeast 194 195 185 185 100 87 92 16,016 17,100 107
East Central 157 160 144 151 105 65 81 9,288 12,300 132
Southeast 279 300 269 284 106 79 64 21,174 18,050 85
    State 3,500 4,000 3,200 3,750 117 59 62 188,800 232,500 123
SOYBEANS
Northwest 53 60 48 58 121 35 41 1,663 2,400 144
West Central 25 25 24 24 100 26 29 634 700 110
Southwest 89 100 87 98 113 45 45 3,928 4,400 112
North Central 321 340 270 328 122 18 31 4,894 10,300 210
Central 213 225 186 217 117 21 29 3,840 6,200 161
South Central 293 295 257 285 111 34 33 8,779 9,500 108
Northeast 629 680 609 665 109 22 36 13,616 24,000 176
East Central 670 650 541 630 117 12 26 6,395 16,600 260
Southeast 657 625 478 595 125 13 22 6,251 12,900 206
    State 1/ 2,950 3,000 2,500 2,900 116 20 30 50,000 87,000 174
1/ Districts may not add to State due to rounding.


U.S. CROP PRODUCTION

UNITED STATES: Corn production is forecast at 9.24 billion bushels, down less than 1 percent from last month and 7 percent from 2000. Based on September 1 conditions, yields are expected to average 133.5 bushels per acre, down 0.4 bushel per acre from August. If realized, this would be the lowest production and yield since 1997. Acreage for harvest as grain is estimated at 69.2 million acres, unchanged from August but down 5 percent from 2000.

Production of sorghum grain is forecast at 537 million bushels, down 1 percent from August but up 14 percent from 2000. Area harvested and to be harvested for grain, at 8.78 million acres, is unchanged from August, but 14 percent higher than 2000. The forecast U.S. yield, at 61.2 bushels per acre, is down 0.8 bushel from August but up 0.3 bushel from `2000.

Soybean production is forecast at a record high 2.83 billion bushels, down 1 percent from August 1 but 2 percent above 2000. Based on September 1 conditions, yields are expected to average 38.2 bushels per acre, down 0.5 bushel from last month but 0.1 bushel above 2000. Acreage for harvest is estimated at a record 74.1 million acres, unchanged from August 1 but up 2 percent from 2000.

All wheat production is placed at 1.99 billion bushels, up slightly from the August forecast but 10 percent below 2000. The U.S. yield is forecast at 40.4 bushels per acre. This is up 0.2 bushel from last month.

Table 3-- UNITED STATES CROP PRODUCTION, SEPTEMBER 1, 2001
Crop &
Unit
Planted 1/ Harvested Yield per Acre Production
2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001 2000 2001
1,000 Acres Per Unit (000's)
All Wheat, bu. 2/ 62,529 59,604 53,028 49,331 41.9 40.4 2,223,440 1,991,077
Corn Grain, bu. 79,545 76,009 72,732 69,191 137.1 133.5 9,968,358 9,238,356
Sorghum Grain, bu. 9,195 10,047 7,723 8,777 60.9 61.2 470,070 537,110
Soybeans, bu. 74,496 75,216 72,718 74,137 38.1 38.2 2,769,665 2,833,511
All Hay, tons 2/ - - 59,854 63,833 2.54 2.48 152,183 158,241
    Alfalfa Hay, tons 2/ - - 23,077 23,750 3.48 3.38 80,347 80,166
    Other Hay, tons 2/ - - 36,777 40,083 1.95 1.95 71,836 78,075
1/ Planted for all purposes. 2/ Estimate carried forward from earlier forecast.

Table 4-- KANSAS AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS
Commodity 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Million Dollars
Wheat & Flour
851 .4 506 .3 699 .1 805 .5 721 .5
Total Feed Grains
628 .8 605 .1 486 .1 533 .1 528 .2
Live Animals & Meat
(Excluding Poultry)

782 .9

678 .7

709 .7

765 .5

969 .7
Hides & Skins
289 .3 282 .7 228 .7 200 .2 286 .7
Soybeans & Products
186 .3 287 .7 291 .7 178 .9 203 .9
Feeds & Fodders
181 .0 185 .5 191 .7 185 .9 212 .7
Fats, Oils, & Greases
124 .0 92 .1 120 .5 106 .1 81 .2
Seeds
21 .6 38 .7 27 .3 26 .0 29 .9
Sunflowers & Oils
20 .1 24 .3 20 .9 16 .9 23 .0
Dairy Products
3 .3 3 .9 3 .5 2 .6 0 .8
Other
2 .7 2 .7 2 .6 2 .5 2 .5
        Total
3,091 .4 2,707 .6 2,781 .9 2,823 .3 3,060 .1



Text Box

MARKET IMPLICATIONS
by Bill Tierney, Kansas State University - Extension Service

The USDA released its second official estimate of 2001 corn and soybean production. It also made revisions in its estimates of spring and durum production. Corn production was pegged at 9,238 million bushels, 28 million bushels below the August estimate. The September estimate is also more than the largest of industry analysts' pre-release estimates.

The USDA also released revised projections for 2001/02 corn supply-demand. The most significant changes were:

(1) beginning stocks were reduced 65 million bushels (due to an unusual 65 million bushel increase in "old crop" exports); however, the projection for "new crop" corn exports was reduced by 25 million bushels but domestic consumption was increased by 25 million bushels;

(2) as a consequence of these changes in the supply:demand figures, corn ending stocks were reduced by 98 million bushels; and

(3) the midpoint of the USDA's projected price range was raised $.05 and now stands at $2.15 -- $.30 more than last year's price of $1.85.

Given the seasonal tendency for feed grain prices to decline into harvest; and allowing for the possible effects of the "Marketing Loan" program (about 400 million bushels of "old crop" corn will need to be redeemed from CCC loan), it seems likely that December corn futures will trade lower. However, at this time, it's unlikely to "test" its previous contract low of $ 2.02 (set June 25).

One negative factor in the outlook for feed grain prices is the slow pace of corn export sales. As of the beginning of September, export sales of "new crop" corn were estimated to be 306 million bushels. That's 80 million bushels less than last year and it is only 15 percent of projected annual exports. On average, as of the beginning of September, 24 percent of total annual exports are already "on the books".

The soybean crop was a record 2,834 million bushels, 1.1 percent less than the August estimate but above the high end of the range of industry expectations.

The USDA also released revised projections for 2001/02 soybean supply-demand:

(1) Beginning stocks were reduced 10 million bushels, and usage was bumped up by 2 million bushels. However, projected ending stocks have shrunk by 45 million bushels from the August estimate. The decrease in ending stocks, while widely expected, pushes stocks to 9 percent of usage, a bit more than last year's 8.5 percent, and below the ten year average of 10.6 percent.

(2) The midpoint of the USDA's projected price range was raised $.05 and now stands at $4.90, up $.35 from last year's $4.55.

The USDA is projecting soybean exports for this year to be 990 million bushels (10 million bushels less than last year's record exports). When soymeal exports are combined with whole soybean exports, the combined figure accounts for 46 percent of total soybean disappearance. As of the beginning of September, soybean export sales totaled 199 million bushels, 55 million bushels more than a year ago and "nearly on schedule" to meet the USDA's latest projection for annual exports.

The soybean price seasonal suggests that cash prices will weaken as harvest progresses and could achieve a harvest low sometime

in the month of October. It is expected that the November soybean futures could decline to the $4.50 level. Prices will probably not "test" the $4.18 low that was set on April 24. Following the harvest lows, soybean prices may not be able to stage much of a post- harvest recovery due the expectation of another record South American crop (Brazil and Argentina).



Dave Ranek & Mike Miller, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician

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