=========================================================== New England Agricultural Statistics - - - a field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service United States Department of Agriculture Aubrey R. Davis, Director Phone: (603) 224-9639 22 Bridge St, 3rd Floor Fax: (603) 225-1434 PO Box 1444 Internet: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ Concord, NH 03302-1444 E-Mail: nass.nh@nass.usda.gov =========================================================== AUGUST AG REVIEW AUGUST 25, 2005 The following is an abbreviated version of the report. The entire document is available as a PDF file on the Internet through: http://www.nass.usda.gov/nh/ =========================================================== A special thank you goes to New England producers and agri-businesses who have helped us by completing surveys via mail, telephone or personal interviews. TOBACCO: The August 1, 2005 tobacco forecast placed broadleaf production at 4.2 million pounds in the Connecticut River Valley states of Connecticut and Massachusetts. Improved yields would place 2005 production 11 percent above last year's output. A cool, wet spring gave way to dry conditions by the end of June. Hot, humid weather during July was accompanied by localized storms which brought heavy rains, high winds and hail. Acreage losses and excessive fertilizer leaching were reported at some locations. Crop ratings ranged from fair to excellent, depending on moisture availability. Broadleaf yields were expected to average 1,744 pounds per acre in the two states according to early August assessments. As of August 1, producers intend to harvest 1.845 million pounds of shade tobacco in Connecticut and Massachusetts, fractionally below a year earlier due to reduced yield expectations. APPLES: New England's 2005 apple crop is expected to total 3.7 million bushels (42-pound units), 16 percent below the 2004 crop. Spring began with warm, wet weather but May brought very cold conditions. Some operators reported light frost damage, light bloom, poor pollination, and minor scab. Heavy rains limited effectiveness of spraying. By June, warmer weather arrived in the region and remained throughout July, however, moisture levels varied. Rhode Island's 2005 estimated production was the only state to increase from 2004 final total. The New England fruit set was reported light to moderate and size of fruit was medium according to early August assessments. As of August 15, 2005, crop condition was rated good to fair. PEARS: Spring began with warm, wet weather but May brought very cold conditions; reportedly one of the coldest in history. Light damage from mid-May frost occurred during bloom. Warm weather arrived in June and remained in the state through the month of July and enhanced pear development. Connecticut's 2005 production is expected to total 1,100 tons, 22 percent above 2004 final total production. Set was reported as moderate overall with fruit size medium. As of August 15, 2005, crop condition was rated fair to good. CRANBERRIES: 2005 FORECAST: The United States forecast for the 2005 cranberry crop was 6.49 million barrels, up five percent from both 2004 and 2003. Production was forecast to be up in New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, and down in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts cranberry crop was forecast at 1.7 million barrels, down six percent from 2004's production, but 21 percent above 2003. Heavy winter snowfall damaged vines in some areas. A rainy May delayed bloom and slowed development of the crop. The crop was rated in good condition in early July, but below average rainfall that month had growers concerned about berry sizing. Growers were irrigating where available. WILD BLUEBERRY: Maine's 2005 wild (lowbush) blueberry crop was expected to total 70.0 million pounds, based on grower reported condition of the crop through mid-July. If realized, this forecast places expected production 52 percent above last year's output of 46.0 million pounds, but 13 percent below 2003 final production, and seven percent below the five-year average crop of 75.0 million pounds. Winter kill appeared minimal on the 2005 wild blueberry crop due to adequate snow cover throughout the winter; however, cool weather this spring delayed crop development and bloom by one to two weeks. Excessive rainfall in April and May created ideal conditions for blight and mummyberry, which were widespread across the state according to mid-July reports. Wet weather in May also caused poor, spotty pollination in many areas. Some growers reported good luck with pollination in early June, when sunny weather finally arrived in conjunction with a late bloom. Lack of rain in June and July had growers concerned about berry size and quality as the harvest approached. FARM PRODUCTION EXPENDITURES: United States farm production expenditures totaled $210.7 billion in 2004, up 5.1 percent from the revised 2003 total of $200.5 billion. The largest categories of expenditures that increased were tractors and self-propelled farm machinery up 24.3 percent, fuels up 19.4 percent; fertilizer up 14.0 percent, feed up 9.1 percent and labor up 5.5 percent. Farm services and interest were the only expenditure categories to show a decrease being down 2.2 and 4.3 percent, respectively. The rent expenditure was unchanged from the previous year. The largest two expenditure categories were feed, which accounted for 14.2 percent of the U.S. total production expenses and farm services which accounted for 12.5 percent of the United States total production expenses. The farm service category includes expense items such as custom work, utilities, marketing charges, veterinary services, transportation cost, and miscellaneous business expenses. The average expenditures per United States farm in 2004 were $99,983, compared to $94,542 as revised for 2003. On the average, United States' farm operations in 2004 spent $14,236 on feed; $12,480 on farm services; $10,914 on labor; $9,016 on livestock and poultry purchases; and $7,782 on rent. Revised estimates for 2003 indicated United States' farms spent an average of $12,967 on feed; $12,684 on farm services; $10,279 on labor; $8,723 on livestock and poultry purchases; and $7,733 on rent. The Atlantic Farm Production (New England, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia) contributed $32.1 billion or 15.2 percent of the 2004 United States' total for farm production expenditures. Other regions that contributed to the total 2004 United States farm production expenditures were the Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin) at $59.9 billion, followed by the West (Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming) at $47.7 billion, Plains (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas) at $47.5 billion, and the South (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) at $23.6 billion. AGRICULTURAL LAND VALUE: The January 1, 2005 New England farm real estate value, including land and buildings, averaged $4,260 per acre, up six percent from the previous year. All six states in the region showed an average value per acre increase from 2004 to 2005. Rhode Island farm real estate averaged the highest in the region at $11,200 per acre. New England's cropland values rose six percent above a year earlier to $6,610 per acre. Pasture land averaged $4,480 per acre in a regional comparison which included Delaware, an increase of eight percent from 2004 value. FARM LABOR: During the survey week of July 10-16, 2005, there were 46,000 hired workers on farms in the Northeast, a seven percent increase from one year ago when there were 43,000 hired workers. There were 930,000 hired workers on the nation's farms during the survey week in July 2005, down three percent from July 2004. Across the United States, hired workers were paid an average of $9.39 per hour during the survey week and worked an average of 40.6 hours. Quarterly farm labor statistics for the Northeast region consist of the six New England states and New York. MILK: Milk production in Vermont totaled 224 million pounds in July 2005, an increase of one percent from July 2004. Milk cows in Vermont totaled 143,000 head in July 2005, unchanged from the previous month but down 2,000 head from the same month the previous year. Milk Production per cow averaged 1,565 pounds in July, an increase of 40 pounds per cow from July 2004. LAYERS AND EGG PRODUCTION: July 2005 inventories for Connecticut and Maine totaled 7.3 million layers, up 30 percent from their combined total in July 2004. Connecticut was the leading producer of eggs in New England, accounting for a total of 73 million eggs from all layers in July 2005. Maine contributed 48 million eggs during the month of July, making it the second largest egg producer in the six-state region. TURKEYS: The forecast for turkeys raised in Massachusetts and Vermont during 2005 is 114,000 birds, a decrease of 8,000 birds from the total number raised in 2004. This result is based on a reduction in the number of poults reported placed and to be place in growing houses between September 1, 2004 and August 1, 2005. The preliminary estimate of turkeys raised in the United States during 2005 is 256 million, down three percent from the number raised a year earlier. Six states (Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Virginia, Missouri, and California) are expected to account for about two-thirds of the turkeys produced in the the United States during 2005. This is a monthly summary of New England agricultural statistics taken from nationwide reports issued by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service. All National reports and State newsletters are available on the Internet at: http://www.usda.gov/nass/ National reports can be ordered by calling 1-800-999-6779. How can you get these reports electronically? * For free National e-mail reports, send a message to: usda-reports@usda.mannlib.cornell.edu and in the body of the message, type: lists * For free State newsletters, such as this, send a message to: listserv@newsbox.usda.gov and in the body, type: subscribe usda-new-eng-all-reports OR for a list of all available reports, type: lists for other states. **************************End of Report****************************