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Report: Record year for Virginia peanuts

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The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced today that Virginia’s peanut yield is forecast to be 4,200 pounds per acre this year, up 200 pounds per acre from the previous month’s forecast. If realized, this would be a record yield. Production is estimated to be 84 million pounds, up 37 percent from last year. Producers are expected to harvest 20,000 acres in 2012.

The compilation of data is based on conditions as of November 1, 2012, as recorded by the Virginia Field Office of the National Agriculture Statistics Service.

The cotton yield is forecast to be 988 pounds per acre, up 28 pounds per acre from last month and up 312 pounds per acre from last year. Production is expected to total 175,000 bales. Cotton growers in the Commonwealth expect to harvest 85,000 acres in 2012.

Virginia’s corn yield as of November 1 is estimated to be 95 bushels per acre, unchanged from the previous month’s forecast. Corn producers in the Commonwealth are expected to harvest 350,000 acres, up 10,000 acres from last year. Production is forecast to be nearly 33.3 million bushels, down 17 percent from last year.

Virginia’s soybean producers expect to average 40 bushels per acre, up one bushel from the October forecast and in line with the record yield from last year. Soybean production is expected to total 23.2 million bushels from 580,000 acres.

Nationally, corn production is forecast at 10.7 billion bushels, up slightly from the October forecast but down 13 percent from 2011. This represents the lowest production in the United States since 2006. Based on conditions as of November 1, yields are expected to average 122.3 bushels per acre, up 0.3 bushel from the October forecast but 24.9 bushels below the 2011 average. If realized, this will be the lowest average yield since 1995. Area harvested for grain is forecast at 87.7 million acres, unchanged from the October forecast and up four percent from 2011.

Soybean production is forecast at 2.97 billion bushels, up four percent from October but down four percent from last year. Yields are expected to average 39.3 bushels per acre, up 1.5 bushels from last month but down 2.6 bushels from last year. Area for harvest in the United States is forecast at 75.7 million acres, unchanged from October and up three percent from last year.

All cotton production is forecast at 17.4 million 480-pound bales, up one percent from last month and up 12 percent from last year. Yield is expected to average 802 pounds per acre, up 12 pounds from last year. Upland cotton production is forecast at 16.8 million 480-pound bales, up 14 percent from 2011.

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