ANNUAL CROP SUMMARY – 2016 – COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

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The 2016 corn for grain crop was estimated at 160.29 million bushels, 19 percent above last year’s production of 134.90 million bushels, according to the December 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. The average yield of 137.0 bushels per acre was 5.0 bushels per acre below the yield realized last year. Area harvested for grain in 2016, at 1.17 million acres, was 220,000 acres above last year. Acreage cut for corn silage was estimated at 140,000 acres, up 20,000 acres from last year, with production estimated at 3.36 million tons, compared with 3.06 million tons produced last year. 

Sorghum for grain production was estimated at 20.75 million bushels, down 6 percent from the previous year. Average yield was estimated at 50.0 bushels per acre, down 5.0 bushels per acre from last year. Producers harvested 415,000 acres for grain, up 15,000 acres from last year’s area harvested. Acreage cut for sorghum silage was estimated at 10,000 acres, unchanged from last year, with production estimated at 90,000 tons compared with 140,000 tons produced last year. 

Oat seedings in Colorado totaled 55,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from last year. Producers harvested 10,000 acres for grain or seed, unchanged from 2015. Oat production totaled 800,000 bushels in 2016, unchanged from last year. Oat yield is 80.0 bushels per acre in 2016, unchanged from the previous year. 

Colorado’s barley seeded area, at 79,000 acres, is up 14,000 acres from last year. Harvested area, at 74,000 acres, is up 11,000 acres from 2015. Barley yield, at 129.0 bushels per acre, is down 1.0 bushel per acre from last year. Barley production in 2016 is estimated at 9.55 million bushels, up 17 percent from the previous year. 

All wheat production in Colorado, estimated at 106.00 million bushels, is up 30 percent from 2015. All wheat yield was 48.2 bushels per acre, up 11.1 bushels per acre from a year ago. Winter wheat producers seeded 2.35 million acres in the fall of 2015 for harvest in 2016, down from 2.45 million acres seeded for the previous year’s crop. Acreage harvested for grain was unchanged from last year at 2.19 million acres in 2016. Winter wheat production is estimated at 105.12 million bushels, up 30 percent from last year. Winter wheat yield, at 48.0 bushels per acre, is up 11.0 bushels per acre from last year, and is a new record high yield, 5.0 bushels per acre above the previous record yield of 43.0 bushels per acre, set in 2010 and 1999. Spring wheat seedings, at 11,000 acres, are up 3,000 acres from last year. Acreage harvested totaled 10,000 acres, up from 7,000 acres harvested last year. Spring wheat production is estimated at 880,000 bushels, up 93 percent from last year. Spring wheat yield, at 88.0 bushels per acre, is up 23.0 bushels per acre from last year. 

Proso millet production in the state was estimated at 7.84 million bushels, down from 8.97 million bushels produced last year. Farmers harvested 285,000 acres of proso millet, up 25,000 acres from the previous year. Yield decreased 7.0 bushels per acre from last year to 27.5 bushels per acre. 

All hay production for 2016 is estimated at 3.57 million tons, down 17 percent from the 2015 total.  

Alfalfa hay production was estimated at 2.38 million tons from 680,000 acres harvested, down 490,000 tons from 2015. Average yield for the 2016 crop was 3.50 tons per acre, 0.60 tons per acre below last year. All other hay production totaled 1.19 million tons from 700,000 acres harvested, down 235,000 tons from 2015. The average yield of 1.70 tons per acre was 0.20 tons per acre below last year. New seedings of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures in Colorado were estimated at 70,000 acres, down 18 percent from 2015. 

As of December 1, producers in Colorado were storing 1.65 million tons of all hay, down 13 percent from the 1.90 million tons stored last year.

 

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