ACREAGE – JUNE 2017 -/- COLORADO HIGHLIGHTS

Colorado principal crop planted acreage, which includes acres planted to all major crops and those expected to be cut for all hay, is up 1 percent from 2016 to 6.25 million acres, according to the June 1 Agricultural Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA.

Colorado corn producers planted 1.40 million acres of corn this year of which they intend to harvest 1.22 million acres for grain, up from 1.17 million acres harvested in 2016. This is an increase of 4 percent from last year’s harvested grain acreage and a 4 percent increase in planted acreage for all purposes. Sorghum plantings, at 450,000 acres, are unchanged from the previous year and acreage expected to be harvested for grain, at 410,000 acres, decreased 1 percent.

Oat seedings are set at 55,000 acres, unchanged from last year, with producers planning to harvest 9,000 acres for grain, down 1,000 acres from the acreage harvested for grain in 2016. Barley planted area, at 60,000 acres, is 24 percent less than last year’s acreage. Expected harvested acres, at 54,000 acres, are 27 percent below 2016.

Winter wheat producers planted 2.30 million acres in the fall of 2016 for harvest in 2017, down from 2.35 million acres planted for the previous year’s crop. Acreage expected to be harvested for grain is down 190,000 acres from last year to 2.00 million acres. Spring wheat seedings, at 12,000 acres, are up 1,000 acres compared with a year ago. Acreage for harvest is expected to total 11,000 acres, up from 10,000 acres harvested last year. Proso millet seedings are expected to total 350,000 acres this year, up 17 percent from 2016.The area to be harvested for hay is expected to increase 30,000 acres from a year ago to 1.41 million acres. Alfalfa hay harvested acreage is expected to increase 20,000 acres to 700,000 acres and all other hay harvested acreage is expected to increase 10,000 acres to 710,000 acres. All sunflower planted area, at 74,000 acres, is unchanged from last year. Oil type varieties totaled 60,000 acres, unchanged from 2016 while non-oil type varieties are set at 14,000 acres, unchanged from last year. Harvested acres are expected to total 56,000 acres for oil type and 13,000 acres for non-oil.

Sugarbeet plantings increased 400 acres from last year to 28,500 acres. The expected harvested area, at 28,200 acres, is 600 acres above last year. Acres planted to dry beans, at 50,000 acres, are up 9 percent from last year. Harvested acres are expected to total 47,000 acres. Fall potatoes located in the San Luis Valley showed a 2 percent increase in planted acres from 50,900 acres last year to 51,900 acres this year. Fall potatoes located outside the San Luis Valley in Colorado (included in Summer Potatoes prior to 2013) totaled 5,300 planted acres, down 900 acres last year.

UNITED STATES HIGHLIGHTS

Corn planted area for all purposes in 2017 is estimated at 90.9 million acres, down 3 percent from last year. Compared with last year, planted acres are down or unchanged in 38 of the 48 estimating States. Area harvested for grain, at 83.5 million acres, is down 4 percent from last year.

Area planted to sorghum in 2017 is estimated at 5.99 million acres, down 11 percent from last year. Kansas and Texas, the leading sorghum-producing States, account for 75 percent of the United States acreage. Record low planted acreage is estimated in Arkansas, Georgia, Mississippi, and Missouri. Growers expect to harvest 5.31 million acres for grain, down 14 percent from last year.

Area seeded to oats for the 2017 crop year is estimated at 2.54 million acres, down 10 percent from 2016. This represents the second lowest planted area on record for the United States. Record low planted acreage is estimated in Alabama, California, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Area for harvest, forecast at 880,000 acres, is down 10 percent from 2016.

Producers seeded 2.38 million acres of barley for the 2017 crop year, down 22 percent from the previous year. This represents the lowest seeded area on record since records began in 1926. Harvested area, forecast at 1.95 million acres, is down 24 percent from 2016. If realized, the harvested acreage for barley will be the lowest since 1879. Record low planted acreage is estimated in Oregon.

All wheat planted area for 2017 is estimated at 45.7 million acres, down 9 percent from 2016. This represents the lowest all wheat planted area on record since records began in 1919. The 2017 winter wheat planted area, at 32.8 million acres, is down 9 percent from last year but up less than 1 percent from the previous estimate. Of this total, about 23.8 million acres are Hard Red Winter, 5.61 million acres are Soft Red Winter, and 3.42 million acres are White Winter. Area planted to other spring wheat for 2017 is estimated at 10.9 million acres, down 6 percent from 2016. Of this total, about 10.3 million acres are Hard Red Spring wheat. Durum planted area for 2017 is estimated at 1.92 million acres, down 20 percent from the previous year.

Area planted to proso millet in 2017 is estimated at 550,000 acres, up 107,000 acres from 2016. Planted acreage increased from last year in all three estimating States.

Producers intend to harvest 53.5 million acres of all hay in 2017, up less than 1 percent from 2016. The expected harvested area of alfalfa and alfalfa mixtures, at 17.1 million acres, is up 1 percent from 2016. All other types of hay harvested are expected to total 36.4 million acres, down less than 1 percent from 2016. Harvested area of all hay is expected to increase or hold steady in most Midwestern States, but declines are expected in parts of the Southern Plains, Northeast, and Pacific Northwest.

Area planted to sunflower in 2017 totals 1.27 million acres, down 21 percent from 2016 and is the lowest planted area for the Nation since 1976. Compared with last year, growers in four of the eight major sunflower-producing States expect a decline in sunflower acreage this year. Planted area in  North  Dakota,  last  year’s  leading  sunflower-producing State, declined 318,000 acres from 2016.

Planted area in North Dakota, at 370,000 acres, represents the lowest planted area since 1971. Producers in South Dakota planted 550,000 acres in 2017, a decrease of 8,000 acres from last year. Harvested area for the Nation is forecast at 1.21 million acres, down 21 percent from last year. Planted area of oil type varieties, at 1.08 million acres, is down 24 percent from 2016, and is the lowest since 1976. Area planted to non-oil varieties, estimated at 186,000 acres, is up 4 percent from last year but is the second lowest planted area since 1983.

Area planted to sugarbeets for the 2017 crop year is estimated at 1.13 million acres, down 3 percent from 2016. Harvested area is forecast at 1.11 million acres, down 2 percent from last year.

Area planted to dry beans in 2017 is estimated at 1.82 million acres, up 10 percent from the previous season and is the highest planted area since 2010. Area harvested is forecast to total 1.77 million acres, up 13 percent from 2016. Eight of the 11 estimating States expect an increase in total dry bean planted acres from last year.

For a full copy of the Acreage report please visit www.nass.usda.gov.