Vegetables

Michigan vegetable growers produced approximately 827,000 tons of fresh and processed vegetables in 1996, which was virtually unchanged from last year's production. Harvested acreage, at 113,900 for fresh market and processed vegetables, was down 3 percent from 1995. Value of production for all vegetables was slightly above $173 million, which was down 7 percent from the previous year. Michigan ranked tenth nationally in all vegetable production.

Most of the state's vegetables are grown in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula. Fresh market produce grown in Michigan is shipped to major markets throughout the nation. The amount of fresh market vegetables produced this year was slightly more than 8 million hundredweight, a 2 percent decline from 1995. Planting of most vegetables was inhibited due to the cold, wet spring weather. Harvesting of carrots, snap beans, and sweet corn was delayed by heavy rains in late June. Nationally, Michigan ranked third in fresh carrot production. Sweet corn harvest failed to meet consumer demands so farm market prices were higher compared with those from 1995. The top five fresh market vegetable counties (including potatoes) were Bay, Berrien, Newaygo, Allegan, and Macomb.

Processed vegetables are utilized by both in and out-of-state processors. Production amounted to 420,240 tons, an increase of 3 percent from 1995. Michigan ranked as the number one producer of cucumbers for pickles nationwide. The top processing vegetable counties (including potatoes) were St. Joseph, Montcalm, Oceana, Gratiot, Mason, and Saginaw.
Dual purpose vegetable acreage is used for both fresh market and processing utilizations. Nationally, Michigan ranked second and third for dual purpose celery and asparagus production, respectively. The volumes of both crops were low at the start of the harvest period due to wet conditions, but yields improved greatly at the end of the season.

vegetable cash receipts chart

Table 7-1.-Vegetables, all: Area, production, and value
[Includes asparagus, carrots, cauliflower, celery, sweet corn, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, snap beans for processing, green peas for processing, and cucumbers for pickles. In 1992, bell peppers, cabbage, cantaloup, cucumbers for fresh market, and snap beans for fresh market were added]
Year Area
planted 		Area
harvested 		Production Value
Acres Tons 1,000 dollars
1992
 131,600 120,630 882,700 181,282
1993
 128,700 122,600 880,800 184,207
1994
 127,000 121,200 878,280 174,423
1995
 126,000 117,700 824,550 185,982
1996
 		122,600 113,900 827,040 173,159

Table 7-2.-Vegetables, processing: Area, production, and value
[Green peas are not published to avoid disclosure of individual operations]
Item Year Area Production Price received Value of productio n
Planted Harvested Per acre Total
Acres Acres Tons Tons Dollars per ton 1,000 dollars
Beans, snap
 1992 23,000 21,000 3.30 69,300 137.00 9,494
1993 23,000 22,000 3.20 70,400 180.00 12,672
1994 23,000 22,000 3.50 77,000 147.00 11,319
1995 23,000 21,500 2.86 61,490 162.00 9,961
1996 22,000 21,000 3.30 69,300 164.00 11,365
Carrots 1
 1993 2,000 1,900 19.50 37,050 50.50 1,871
1994 1,900 1,800 23.00 41,400 57.10 2,364
1995 1,700 1,600 21.00 33,600 59.70 2,006
1996 1,700 1,600 23.00 36,800 65.10 2,396
Corn, sweet
 1992
 7,500 7,200 6.00 43,200 74.00 3,197
1993
 7,000 7,000 6.30 44,100 76.00 3,352
1994
 7,100 7,100 6.50 46,150 65.00 3,000
1995
 5,000 4,100 6.00 24,600 70.00 1,722
1996 3,900 3,700 6.75 24,980 82.00 2,048
Cucumbers for pickles
 1992
 23,000 21,500 5.20 111,800 159.00 17,776
1993
 23,000 22,000 5.80 127,600 155.00 19,778
1994
 24,500 24,000 5.50 132,000 164.00 21,648
1995
 28,000 26,000 5.50 143,000 149.00 21,307
1996 28,000 26,000 5.30 137,800 156.00 21,497
Tomatoes
 1992 6,100 5,700 32.00 182,400 69.00 12,586
1993
 6,600     6,500 28.00 182,000 69.50 12,649
1994 4,600 4,500 32.00 144,000 73.80 10,627
1995 4,600 4,500 30.00 135,000 65.70 8,870
1996 4,600 4,400 32.50 143,000 73.70 10,539
1 Before 1993 carrots were estimated as a dual purpose crop.

Table 7-3.-Vegetables, fresh market: Area, production, and value
Item Year Area Production Price received Value of production 1
Planted Harvested Per acre Total
Acres Acres Cwt. 1,000 cwt. Dollars per cwt. 1,000 dollars
Beans, snap
 1992 2,200 1,900 36 68 33.90 2,305
1993 2,200 2,100 40 84 29.00 2,436
1994 2,000 1,900 50 95 23.80 2,261
1995 1,800 1,700 45 77 27.10 2,087
1996 1,700 1,500 40 60 38.20 2,292
Cabbage
 1992 2,200 2,000 210 420 6.80 2,856
1993 2,200 1,900 260 494 9.60 4,742
1994 2,000 1,800 320 576 8.80 5,069
1995 1,800 1,700 220 374 12.00 4,488
1996 1,800 1,700 310 527 9.00 4,743
Cantaloups
 1992 1,200 800 80 64 23.10 1,478
1993 1,200 1,100 110 121 17.00 2,057
1994 1,000 800 115 92 15.60 1,435
1995 900 850 150 128 16.30 2,086
1996 800 600 90 54 17.00 918
Carrots 2
 1993 5,400 5,300 240 1,272 12.30 15,646
1994 6,100 5,900 250 1,475 15.10 22,273
1995 6,200 5,700 340 1,938 16.80 32,558
1996 6,000 5,000 260 1,300 11.80 15,340
Corn, sweet
 1992 14,500 11,800 78 920 13.60 12,512
1993 13,000 11,500 75 863 16.20 13,981
1994 13,500 12,000 85 1,020 15.00 15,300
1995 13,000 11,500 80 920 15.70 14,444
1996 12,500 10,500 85 893 17.00 15,181
Cucumbers
 1992 5,700 4,900 140 686 17.00 11,662
1993 5,700 5,400 170 918 13.00 11,934
1994 5,800 5,400 170 918 11.20 10,282
1995 5,900 5,700 150 855 18.00 15,390
1996 5,700 5,500 200 1,100 15.20 16,720
Onions
 1992 7,600 7,200 340 2,448 13.00 23,868
1993 7,400 7,100 310 2,201 14.40 26,928
1994 7,000 6,700 325 2,178 8.61 15,188
1995 6,500 6,400 290 1,856 9.25 13,736
1996 6,200 5,800 310 1,798 10.80 15,541
    
Peppers, bell
 1992 2,500 2,200 140 308 25.00 7,700
1993 2,500 2,300 160 368 22.40 8,243
1994 2,100 1,900 200 380 20.80 7,904
1995 2,200 2,100 170 357 22.70 8,104
1996 2,100 2,000 200 400 18.40 7,360
Tomatoes
 1992 2,700 2,500 140 350 32.40 11,340
1993 2,700 2,400 150 360 32.30 11,628
1994 2,700 2,500 160 400 31.40 12,560
1995 2,600 2,400 150 360 30.40 10,944
1996 2,600 2,400 180 432 24.20 10,454
1 Onions=Value of sales.
2 Before 1993 carrots were estimated as a dual purpose crop.

Table 7-4.-Vegetables, dual purpose: Area, production, and value
Item Year Area Production Price received Value of production
Planted Harvested Per acre Total
Acres Acres Cwt. 1,000 cwt. Dollars per cwt. 1,000 dollars
Asparagus
 1992 1 20,000 19,500 14 273 56.40 15,398
1993 1 19,500 19,000 15 285 60.20 17,155
1994 1 18,500 18,000 13 234 60.70 14,194
1995 1 17,500 17,000 18 306 65.70 20,106
1996 1 18,000 17,500 17 298 67.50 20,110
Carrots 2
 1992 7,400 6,700 335 2,278 10.60 24,086
Cauliflower
 1992 1,000 900 130 117 33.00 3,865
1993 900 800 130 104 40.60 4,220
1994 800 700 120 84 39.10 3,288
1995 700 650 120 78 33.60 2,617
1996 700 600 130 78 30.30 2,367
Celery
 1992 2,800 2,700 460 1,242 14.10 17,547
1993 2,800 2,700 420 1,134 12.40 14,014
1994 2,800 2,600 430 1,118 13.20 14,745
1995 2,700 2,500 420 1,050 13.60 14,255
1996 2,500 2,300 520 1,196 11.10 13,294
1 Bearing acres only.
2 Before 1993 carrots were estimated as a dual purpose crop.

Table 7-5.-Vegetables, dual purpose: Disposition and value
[Cauliflower and celery disposition data are not publishable]
Item Year Fresh Market Processing
Productio n Price received Value of productio n Productio n Price received Value of production
1,000 cwt. Dollars per cwt. 1,000 dollars Tons Dollars per ton 1,000 dollars
Asparagus
 1992 32 74.50 2,384 12,050 1,080.00 13,014
1993 34 69.00 2,346 12,550 1,180.00 14,809
1994 22 67.00 1,474 10,600 1,200.00 12,720
1995 36 71.00 2,556 13,500 1,300.00 17,550
1996 33 79.00 2,607 13,260 1,320.00 17,503
Carrots 1
 1992 1,479 14.70 21,889 39,950 55.00 2,197
1 Before 1993 carrots were estimated as a dual purpose crop.

Table 7-6.-Pickle stocks: United States October 1
[Individual Michigan data is not available]
Year From current stock year From previous year crop Total stocks
Salt stock including dill Fresh pack Refrigerated Salt stock including dill Fresh pack
Tons
1992
 255,280 117,330 7,660 40,830 280 421,380
1993
 281,510 152,150 6,110 11,080 710 451,560
1994
 288,630 131,490 8,220 49,680 230 478,250
1995
 244,860 91,550 6,980 26,900 2,310 372,600
1996
 		218,230 110,920 7,810 53,520 2,490 392,970

Mushrooms

Michigan growers sold 14.4 million pounds of Agaricus (white button) mushrooms during the 1995- 1996 marketing year compared to last year's 14.9 million, a 3 percent decrease. Michigan maintained its fifth place ranking behind California, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Ohio. Growers in the state used 2.6 million square feet of bed and tray space to harvest this season's crop. The price per pound averaged $1.10. This was a 17 percent increase. As a result, the value of sales rose to $15.8 million, $1.9 million more than last season.

The Agaricus mushrooms are grown in specially built mushroom houses where humidity and temperatures are carefully controlled year round. The available square footage can be filled three or more times during the year to account for the total area in production. Growers in Michigan also produce some specialty mushrooms grown on both indoor and outdoor natural wood logs.

Table 7-7.-Mushrooms: Area, production, and value
[Marketing year begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year]
Year Area in production Production Yield per square foot Price per pound Value of production
1,000 sq. ft. 1,000 pounds Pounds Cents 1,000 dollars
1991-92
 3,925 17,628 4.49 88.1 15,525
1992-93
 2,590 15,411 5.95 98.5 15,174
1993-94
 2,578 14,736 5.72 94.2 13,881
1994-95
 2,581 14,877 5.76 93.8 13,958
1995-96
 		2,595 14,414 5.55 110.0 15,818